AMM - by Kirk Maltais
New York 04/10/2016 - Demand for aluminium extrusions in North America jumped in August, increasing nearly 13 percent over the previous month, according to statistics released by the Aluminum Association on Tuesday.
Shipments of aluminium extruded products totalled an estimated 463 million pounds (210,013 tonnes), the Virginia-based association said on October 4. August's total is 4.3 percent higher than the total of 444.1 million pounds (201,440 tonnes) from the same time last year and a 12.9-percent jump from 410 million pounds (185,973 tonnes) in the previous month.
Overall aluminium shipments from domestic facilities - excluding exports - also jumped in August, totalling 2.14 billion pounds (968,420 tonnes), up 6.8 percent from 2 billion pounds (906,731 tonnes) from the same time last year.
Business from the automotive sector is reportedly one of the main drivers for the uptick in extrusion business.
"It appears there was a 'pause' in July and orders picked up again in August," Jeff Henderson, president of the Aluminum Extruder's Council (AEC), told AMM on October 4. "Extruders have been busy this year, especially extruders that service automotive. There was some speculation that many commercial/architectural projects may have been put on hold until after the elections."
Billet market participants who spoke to AMM in August gave a mixed picture on extrusion demand, with many earlier in the month stating that they were holding to contract volumes. But by the middle of the month some billet suppliers noted that spot interest had started to perk up along with interest in 2017 contract negotiations - although uncertainty about the US presidential elections in November remained a key concern for those on the market.
Premiums have been mixed, reflecting an uptick in domestic demand. While the billet upcharge has dropped nearly 15-percent since the end of May - with AMM's most recent assessment levelling off at 10-10.5 cents per pound - the Midwest premium has recently experienced a small recovery of its own.
After dropping nearly 30 percent from the end of April to mid-September, AMM's assessment has risen in the past two weeks, with the most recent assessment coming in at 6-6.5 cents per pound.
On the end-market side, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM's) purchasing managers' index - used to monitor growth and contraction in the US manufacturing sector - came in at 49.4 percent for August, indicating a slight contraction in the market. IHS Markit Ltd's PMI, meanwhile, at 52 percent showed moderate expansion.
Metal Bulletin, the global metals and mining price reporting agency, recently acquired 100 percent of the shares of FastMarkets Ltd.