US crude and dried bauxite imports uptick in Q3 but remain insufficient to offset Y-T-D decline

However, annually, the United States bauxite imports in Q3 2024 witnessed a fall of 95,000 tonnes or 14.66 per cent from 648,000 tonnes. That led to a decline in year-to-date import volume from 1.84 million tonnes to 1.58 million tonnes.

Import sources

Turkey, which reduced its bauxite supply to the United States for an interim period from Q1 to Q2, increased its export volume significantly in the third quarter of 2024. According to the USGS data, the United States bauxite imports from Turkey stood at 187,000 tonnes in Q3, compared to 24,000 tonnes in Q2 and 180,000 tonnes in Q3 2023. Thus, on a year-on-year basis, the United States bauxite imports from Turkey demonstrated an uptick of 7,000 tonnes or 4 per cent.

However, the total import volume from Turkey through the first three quarters stood 14.7 per cent down Y-o-Y from 272,000 tonnes to 232,000 tonnes, due to low import volume for the back-to-back two quarters at 20,000 tonnes and 24,900 tonnes. In the entire year of 2023, the United States bauxite import volume from Turkey totalled 347,000 tonnes.

Jamaica, which still remained the highest bauxite supplier to the United States, minimised its export volume in Q3 from 487,000 tonnes in Q2 to 365,000 tonnes. That reflected a sequential fall of 25 per cent. Also, on a year-on-year basis, Jamaica’s Q3 2024 bauxite exports to the United States registered a decline of 21 per cent from 462,000 tonnes.

From January to September, Jamaica exported 1.32 million tonnes of crude and dried bauxite to the United States, down by 15 per cent from 1.55 million tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous year.

Short-term outlook

If the current upward trend continues, U.S. imports of crude and dried bauxite are expected to reach approximately 1.6 million tonnes or slightly more, representing a year-on-year decrease of 33-35 percent compared to the 2.4 million tonnes imported in 2023.