World alumina production in May rebounds by 3% M-o-M , but with a dip in daily output

In May 2025, world alumina production recorded a slight rise month-on-month following a slump in April, but not without a twist. While total monthly output rose to 12.626 million tonnes, marking a 3 per cent increase, the daily average slipped slightly from 408,400 tonnes to 407,300 tonnes, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). The decline in daily output is likely due to one fewer operational day in May’s calendar.

Of the total alumina production in May, metallurgical-grade ore accounted for 11.841 million tonnes, making up 93.78 per cent of the total output, while chemical-grade output stood at 785,000 tonnes, contributing 6.22 per cent to the overall production. Notably, the growth in May alumina production was exclusively driven by metallurgical-grade ore, as chemical-grade volumes remained static.

On an annual basis, the world alumina output also recorded a rise from 12.195 million tonnes, marking a growth of 3.53 per cent.

Going by the IAI data, the growth in the world alumina production touched upon almost all the major producing regions across the world, except North America and Oceania. In those two regions, alumina output in May stood at 162,000 tonnes and 1.431 million tonnes, contracting by 2.99 per cent and 0.35 per cent M-o-M from 167,000 tonnes and 1.436 million tonnes, respectively. Even compared to the same month last year, the production in North America during May 2025 stood 7.95 per cent less than 176,000 tonnes.