
AL Circle Analysis: Import rise meets demand growth on aluminium extrusion chessboard
Aluminium’s downstream trade network is getting more fragmented as import dependence, changing end-use demand and trade-policy interventions reshape regional markets. From North America and Europe to Asia-Pacific, the aluminium industry is navigating a market where access to supply, competitive...
US industrial policy needs to be systematic, not just ad hoc – Part 2
Our current approach can win economic skirmishes, but not the geopolitical conflict. – Part 2 Impact #5 of ad hoc industrial policy: Failing to use all required tools Industrial policy is often caricatured as just tariffs and subsidies. Mis-framed debates that evaluate the merits of tariffs in...
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Ormet is looking to sell smelter
Several months after shuttering its local plant and almost one full year since it filed for bankruptcy, Ormet Corp. has announced the smelter plant and surrounding property - including land on which natural gas currently is being produced - is up for sale. The company, in noting the plant's assets...

Noranda electric-rate case raises novel questions for Missouri
Aluminum producers sometimes say their product is really molten electricity, not metal. The industry witticism reflects the fact that energy accounts for one-third or more of a smelter’s production costs, and it helps explain why one producer is asking the Missouri Public Service Commission for a...

Century hopes to reopen its Ravenswood smelter despite loses
Despite a loss of $40.3 million the previous year, Century Aluminum still has hopes of reopening its Ravenswood smelter, said the company in a financial statement. Century Aluminum lost a sum of $9.7 million in the last 3 months of 2013, according to the financial statement released. The statement...

General Motors Co. plans to secure aluminium for their trucks
General Motors Co. is making efforts to come up with a largely aluminum-bodied pickup truck by the end of 2018, under the pressure from federal fuel efficiency standards & archrival Ford Motor Co. The No. 1 U.S. auto maker signed a supply contract with Novelis Inc., and Alcoa Inc. which are working...

North American Aluminum scrap prices recover on Index
The North American Aluminum scrap prices rebounded on ScrapMonster Price Index as on February 18th , Tuesday. 1100 Scrap prices moved higher by $0.01 per Lb. The prices of 3003 Scrap too increased $0.01 per Lb. An up move of $0.01 per Lb was witnessed in 356 Aluminum Wheels, 5052 Scrap, 6061...

Noranda Alumunium honored for hiring veterans under Show-Me Heroes program
The Missouri Department of Economic Development recently honored Noranda Aluminum with the Flag of Freedom award. The award is recognition for the company for participating in Show-Me Heroes program and also hiring veterans, who make up for 20% of the workforce of the aluminum smelter. "Noranda...

Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld to present at BMO Capital Markets 23rd Global Metals & Mining Conference
Alcoa announced today that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld will present at the BMO Capital Markets 23rd Global Metals & Mining Conference in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday, February 24, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Mr. Kleinfeld will discuss Alcoa's repositioning strategy to build out the...

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation reports fourth quarter and full year 2013 financial results
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation today reported net income of $105 million, or $5.44 earnings per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to $86 million, or $4.45 earnings per diluted share, for the prior year ended December 31, 2012. Excluding the impact of non-run-rate items,...

Massive training campaign planning for aluminum F-150
By the time Ford F-150 comprising of an aluminium body hits dealerships in fourth quarter, thousands of insurance estimators, collision repair technicians, Ford field staffers and many other staffs will have to attend the biggest industry training programs. F-150 is the biggest-selling vehicle in...

Maine-based aluminum trailer manufacturer plans to open a plant in South Dakota
A Maine-based aluminium trailer manufacturer plans to set up a plant in the largest city of South Dakota. The Governor's Office of Economic Development says the Alcom LLC plant that has been planned to set up in Sioux Falls will initially create 20 jobs and open up about 180 positions in the next 3...

Noranda requests lower electricity rate for New Madrid smelter in US
Noranda Aluminum has requested the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) for a rate design change that would reduce electricity costs at its aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri, US. Supported by testimony of the United Steelworkers Union, community organizations, legislators, Missouri...

Bud Light partners with Alcoa to launch new re-closable aluminum bottle
Bud Light drinkers across America can now enjoy new, re-closable 16-ounce bottles enabled by Alcoa’s technology and materials. The new Bud Light “Cool Twist” re-closable aluminum bottle is based on Alcoa’s patented bottle technology, uses Alcoa’s aluminum bottle sheet and carries the Alcoa logo on...

Shiloh Industries plans $7.8 million investment in Indiana
Auto supplier Shiloh Industries Inc. of Valley City said its Shiloh Die Cast Midwest subsidiary plans to spend nearly $8 million to expand two Indiana plants to support new increased demand from automakers for advanced lightweighting technologies. The company will invest $7.8 million to renovate...

Primary aluminum production in Canada declined in January
The Aluminum Association of Canada reported that primary aluminum production in Canada declined three-tenths of one percent in January to an annual rate of 2,901,891 metric tonnes, off 9,114 tonnes from the December rate of 2,911,005 TPY. Compared to a year ago, production was off 3.2 percent from...

Aleris to aquire Nichols Aluminum from Quanex
Quanex Building Products Corp. announced Monday that it has agreed to sell its interest in Nichols Aluminum, LLC, to downstream aluminum processor Aleris for $110 million in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition of Nichols, a wholly owned subsidiary of Houston-based Quanex, includes two...

F-150 a ‘game changer’ for aluminium: Novelis
The introduction of an aluminium-intensive pickup truck will be a “game changer” for both the automotive and aluminium industries, according to Novelis, which reported a rise in its fiscal third-quarter net income on the back of higher global shipments. The new aluminium-intensive body enclosure...

Novelis Reports Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2014 Results
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today reported net income attributable to its common shareholder of $13 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Excluding certain tax-effected items, net income was $23 million for the quarter, up $14 million compared to $9 million...

Indian companies may not gain from global aluminium rally
Investors note, the recent upswing in aluminium premiums in the US and Europe may not benefit Indian aluminium manufacturers - Hindalco Industries and Nalco - as such premiums have been relatively stable in Asia. Aluminium prices on LME continue to be muted with production exceeding demand coupled...
