CRU aluminum news roundup

This week, the US-based Aluminum Association released the latest shipment data for extruded products in June. According to the report, shipments of extruded shapes totaled 360 million pounds (180,000 short tons) in June, representing declines of 8.2% y/y and 8.2% m/m. As for the YTD period up to July, total shipments amounted to 2.2 billion pounds, a decline of 6.3% y/y.

The report follows the one for rolled products released a week earlier. The report was disappointing, with shipments down 1.7% y/y and 3% m/m. For rolled products, this marks a return to contraction for the first time since October 2023. As for extrusions, this suggests the small growth of 0.4% y/y seen in May was probably just a one-off, as the sector has been in contraction mode since August 2022.