No prizes for guessing what is the situation in global Aluminium industry today. LME is below sustainable price range for more than 1500 days now, premiums are volatile and highest ever, smelter shutdowns and production cuts have been on since over 5 years, one of the longest recessionary phases experienced since the 1960s. Most new […]
Obama’s 2010 mandate that obligates car manufacturers to double new-car average fuel economy by 2025 has pushed the car industry to produce more fuel efficient cars at a faster rate. Ford’s next F-150 — the US’s largest selling vehicle — is currently being redesigned and rebuilt with an all-aluminum body, a huge helping hand to […]
Those forced to pay the new record highs in the aluminium premiums in the USA may not feel like breaking into song, but they will certainly be asking “What’s going on?” Midwest premiums shot up at the start of the year, and are now north of US$400 per tonne. (Midwest premiums are quoted in US […]
Aluminum holds the distinction of being both the youngest and the most widely used among all the base nonferrous metals in the U.S. Aluminum is known to be a lightweight, ductile, malleable and corrosion resistant metal, making it a popular choice with manufacturers. As with other nonferrous metals, aluminum is also inherently recyclable and recycled […]
The prolonged price crunch in the global aluminium market is turning out to be a nightmare for the primary aluminium producers worldwide. Low market prices coupled with falling demand from Europe and some of the fastest growing emerging markets, China being the fulcrum, is pushing smelters world over into the operationally uneconomical zone. As if […]
Before the 1980s, banking institutions weren’t allowed to own non-financial businesses — Congress wanted to reduce the risks banks take, as well as safeguard depositors. However, in the 1990s, Congress and the Federal Reserve’s rules were relaxed, soon permitting some banks to develop businesses in storing and transporting commodities. In 2010, Goldman Sachs bought Metro […]
One area of the aluminium industry that doesn’t get talked about much is, what happens to a dead pot? In the normal scheme of things, the steel furnace in which pure aluminium is made will last somewhere between 5 and 10 years before the protective linings wear down too far. At that time, the […]
It has long been assumed that global aluminium industry normally goes through a seven–year itch during its growth cycle intervened by 2-3 years of depression. The present depression in the market which started about 2 years after the ‘not so great’ global financial crisis of 2008-09, seems to have overstayed its ‘unwelcome’. Whatever significant capacity growth […]
Before you start reading the blog below, consider the following THREE facts about aluminium and China: 1. China is now the world’s largest producer (> 50%) of primary aluminum using mostly (> 80%) coal-generated electricity; 2. Production of primary aluminum requires large quantity of electricity, and therefore emits a large quantity of GHG (12 tonnes […]
Primary Aluminium History: People often think of aluminum as a cheap and plentiful metal, but 130 years ago aluminum was considered rare and expensive. According to the book “Chemical Principles,” refining aluminum from bauxite was so costly in the 19th century that the Washington Monument was given an aluminum tip to symbolize its value. In […]