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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US secondary aluminium alloy prices steady
Prices for secondary aluminium alloys held steady in the USA this past week as producers said limited supply coupled with robust demand from the automotive sector was supporting the lower end of the market. Producers noted that several smelters were either in the process of bringing furnaces back...
USA’s Aleris offers marine alloy temper
Aluminium manufacturer Aleris International is selling 5083–H128, a newly developed aluminium alloy temper for marine applications. The alloy meets new standards for marine plate as specified in the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) B928-13 standard, the company said. While...
Century Aluminum reports Third Quarter 2013 Results
Century Aluminum Company reported a net loss of $9.5 million ($0.11 per basic and diluted common share) for the third quarter of 2013. Cost of sales for the quarter included a $5.8 million benefit for lower of cost or market inventory adjustments and an $11.7 million benefit for deferred power...
Alcoa Intalco Works survives tough market conditions
It's been a year since Alcoa Intalco Works signed a 10-year power supply deal and two years since management and employees reached a new labor contract, avoiding a potentially crippling strike. For years uncertainty about the power supply cast a shadow over Alcoa's future in Whatcom County. Having...
Novelis increases prices for aluminum automotive sheet products in North America
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced a price increase on its aluminum automotive sheet products in North America. The price increase of $0.11 per pound for 6000-series, 5182-series and 5000-series automotive alloys will be effective for all new orders on or...
Aluminium market to soar after 2014, economist says
Aluminium companies should use a slow 2014 to upgrade, expand and hire new staff to gear up for boom times in the following years, an economist has said. Next year will be “off” compared with 2013 as demand slackens from the middle of 2014 into the first quarter of 2015, Alan Beaulieu, president of...
Premier Pauline Marois reassures Alcoa employees, says negotiations underway
Premier Pauline Marois said Wednesday she would enter negotiations with Alcoa Inc., which has said its three Quebec smelters would no longer be competitive if Hydro Québec raises its electricity costs by a reported 60 per cent. "We should reassure Alcoa employees, not scare them," Marois said in...
Aluminum giant Alcoa to close its three smelters in Canada
U.S. Aluminum giant Alcoa is threatening to close all three of its smelters in the province of Quebec, Canada, as electricity supply cost for the plants is expected to jump 60%, TVA network reported late Tuesday (in French). According the news outlet, Alcoa issued a 12-month notice to Hydro-Québec,...
Agency approves rate increases for western Kentucky utility that lost aluminum smelter
The Kentucky Public Service Commission has approved a rate increase for customers of a western Kentucky utility that sought the increase to absorb the loss of its biggest customer, an aluminum smelter. The PSC authorized Big Rivers Electric Corp. to seek an additional $54.2 million annually from...
Semi demand, import & export up in US and Canada in August
Demand for aluminum semi-fabricated (mill) products in the United States and Canada (measured in shipments by domestic producers plus imports) totaled an estimated 1,445 million pounds in August, increasing less than one-tenth of one percent over the August 2012 total of 1,444 million pounds....
U.S. aluminum-can recycling hits 20-year high
The rate at which the U.S. recycled aluminum cans in 2012 hit a 20-year high, reflecting metal companies' stepped-up efforts in recent years to procure and process scrap. The U.S. recycled 62 billion cans, equivalent to 67% of the 92 billion cans produced that year, according to a report released...
Kasich criticized over layoffs at Ohio aluminum plant
What was once the largest private employer in its region is now Ohio's largest industrial layoff of the year. Republican Gov. John Kasich is facing criticism over the indefinite shuttering of Ormet Corp., an aluminum smelting giant along the Ohio River and the onetime largest customer of American...
Ormet in 'advanced discussions' to sell alumina refinery
Bankrupt US aluminum producer Ormet is in "advanced discussions" about selling its 540,000 mt/year alumina refinery in Burnside, Louisiana, which is currently idled, and a deal is expected soon, CEO Michael Tanchuk told Platts Thursday. Citing a confidentiality agreement, Tanchuk said in an...
Novelis marks commissioning of aluminum automotive sheet finishing lines in Oswego, NY
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today commissioned a $200 million expansion of its rolling operations in Oswego, NY. The expansion increases the company's North American capacity for producing aluminum sheet for the automotive industry by 240,000 tons, five times the...
First part of CIAC turned out to be a successful meeting for the aluminum industry
The first part of the Canadian International Aluminum Conference (CIAC) ended yesterday and more than 1,100 participants took in an exhibition as well as training sessions and conferences sponsored by the International Aluminum Conference (INALCO) and AluSolutions at the Palais des congrès de...
Fire extinguished quickly at Aleris aluminum plant
A fire at Aleris Aluminum Recycling was quickly extinguished due to the quick work of employees and the Elyria Fire Department, said Aleris spokeswoman Shannon Bennett. The fire, which began in a processing oven, was reported at 11:51 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters arrived about four minutes later,...
Aluminum can continues sustainability leadership as most recycled beverage container
Industry recycling of aluminum beverage containers in the United States continued its decade-long upward trend in 2012 with a rate of 67%, according to data released by the Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). This is the...
Noranda Aluminum gets hold rating at UBS AG
UBS AG reissued their hold rating on shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Stock Ratings Network reports. The firm currently has a $2.40 price target on the stock. Shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. traded down 1.16% on Thursday,...
