Economy
Alcoa Challenges AHSS with New Aluminum Alloy
Written by Sandy Williams
January 15, 2015
A fresh challenge to advanced high strength steel has emerged with a new product from Alcoa called Micromill. The new alloy is stronger, lighter and more formable than previous aluminum alloys.
“We cracked the magic formula,” said Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld during the Q4 2014 earnings call. “In the past, if you wanted more formability, you typically had to give up strength. If you wanted more strength, you had to give up also on weight. So you typically had stronger, which was heavier, which was less formable, that’s breaking the formula.”
Another advantage of the new alloy is the ability to produce it quickly. “What used to take 20 days to go from melting to rolling that coin, now in the micro-metal process takes 20 minutes. It all happens in a footprint that’s about a quarter of a conventional mill,” said Kleinfeld. The new alloy will be a value-added product sold at value-add premium margins.
Alcoa has successfully completed customer trials and has secured an unnamed strategic development customer. The company has prioritized the automotive industry for use of the new alloy but the micro-metal process can be applied to many other applications, said Kleinfeld. Alcoa is in the process of seeking qualification for specific automotive platforms which will mean limited use in 2015, but Kleinfeld stressed that the product is a breakthrough that the company is very confident in.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
Chicago Business Barometer Inches Up in April
The Chicago Business Barometer broke its three-month downward trend, inching up 0.2 points to 57.6. Production output picked up during the month, although new orders continued to decline. Both were below year-ago levels. Supplier delivery times lengthened, and steel was mentioned by respondents as difficult to source. The index was up almost 20 percent and […]
PMA Members See Impact from Tariffs
Metalforming manufacturers are expecting steady business conditions during the next three months, according to the April 2018 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. PMA members, however, are seeing negative impacts from the Section 232 aluminum and steel tariffs. Orders are expected to remain steady in the next few months. Manufacturers said daily shipping levels […]
Manufacturing Indicators Point to Strong First Half
Indicators of manufacturing activity point to a strong first half for the U.S. economy and the steel industry. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the United States. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be brief in […]
BEA: U.S. GDP Slows Slightly in First Quarter
GDP growth slowed in the first quarter, but on a trailing 12-month basis has improved for the last seven quarters, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of government data. The first estimate of GDP in the first quarter was 2.32 percent, down from 2.87 percent in Q4 2017. Economy.com reported: “U.S. GDP growth moderated […]
Consumer Confidence Rebounds in April
Consumer confidence dipped slightly in March and recovered partially in April, but the three-month moving average (3MMA) has advanced for nine of the last 10 months, according to data from The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey. The composite value of consumer confidence in April was 128.7, up from 127.0 in March. The 3MMA increased from […]