US aluminium production up by 23% in 2019; secondary aluminium output declines 9%

According to the latest report from the US Geological Survey, US domestic primary aluminium production came in at 91,000 tonnes in December 2019. The average daily production was 2,950 tonnes, essentially unchanged from that in November 2019, 3% less than that in December 2018, but 43% more than that in December 2017.

For the full year 2019, total primary aluminium production was 1.09 million tonnes, 23% more than that in 2018.

Total aluminium recovered from scrap was 262,000 tonnes in December 2019, down 3% month-on-month. That was down 10% from December 2018 and 7% from December 2017.

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Of this, 144,000 tonnes of aluminium was recovered from new scrap and 118,000 tonnes was recovered from old scrap. In 2019, secondary aluminium production stood at 3.37 million tonnes, a drop of 9% from 2018.

Inventories of primary aluminium in LME-approved warehouses in the United States decreased from 5,025 tonnes at the end of November to 4,750 tonnes at the end of December. Inventories of secondary aluminium (North American Secondary Aluminium Alloy Contract) stood at 40,620 tonnes at the end of December, down from 56,080 tonnes at the end of November.

In December, the average U.S. spot market price of primary aluminium ingot was $0.945 per pound, slightly less than that in November.