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ALUMINUM FOIL/SHEET

Aluminum Benefiting From Substitution: Evans.

December 1st, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

The aluminum market is benefiting from increased substitution out of copper and steel-based products in the wake of soaring prices, according to Richard B. Evans of Alcan Inc., Montreal. In the past few years and especially more recently, aluminum has benefited at the expense of steel and copper as those metals experienced enormous price jumps. The cable business is faring well as manufacturers substitute out of copper into aluminum. There also has been substitution into aluminum for cans in Europe, away from steel, and aluminum penetration rates also are beginning to pick up in the automotive industry again despite an overall slowdown in the sector.

Slowdowns in the U.S. auto and construction markets have been balanced by demand from China. Currently, China is where the growth is. China’s 7.4-kilogram-per-capita aluminum use compares with between 20 and 30 kg for most Western nations.

American Metal Market. November 30, 2006

Panama Canal Expansion Gets ‘Go’

October 30th, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

Voters in Panama have approved a referendum for a $5.3-billion expansion of the Panama Canal, expected to double the canal’s capacity by 2014. The referendum passed by a margin of 78% to 22%. The project will add a third set of locks, each 1,400 feet long and 180 feet wide, giving bigger freighters carrying up to 12,000 containers a route through the passage.

Many more new freighters being delivered are capable of carrying in excess of 10,000 containers. Ships classified as panamax-the largest ships that can navigate the canal currently-can generally carry no more than 5,000 containers. As a major corridor for delivery of copper from Chile, the project could make the transporting of metals easier by adding capacity to meet the growing demand for raw materials worldwide.

American Metal Market. October 24, 2006

Novelis Plans to Sell, Close Some European Operations to Cut Costs

September 7th, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

Novelis Inc. is considering plans to sell its Foil and Technical Products division in Europe as part of a comprehensive restructuring program aimed at cutting costs. The struggling Atlanta-based aluminum rolled products company, will close its technology center in Neuhausen, Switzerland, and overhaul its central management and administration activities in Europe in an attempt to save up to $10 million per year. As many as 2,100 jobs could be at risk. The Foil and Technical Products division comprises three plants in Germany and one each in France, Luxembourg and Britain.

The company has been going through a restructuring process since last year in a bid to cut costs and generate profits. It sold an industrial site in Falkirk, Scotland, to Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley for $7.6 million in October 2005 and closed its rolled products plant in Flemalle, Belgium, and two packaging operations in Cruseilles, France, and Garbagnate, Italy, shortly afterwards. This year, it sold its rolling mill in Annecy, France, closed its Borgofranco secondary aluminum smelter in northern Italy and restructured foil operations in Germany.

American Metal Market September 1, 2006

Smelters Reduce Buying Prices For Aluminum Scrap $0.02 a Pound.

August 31st, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

Smelters that held off cutting scrap buying prices last week began lowering them this week, many lopping off 2 cents a pound for some items. Some smelters might be low-balling prices at the tail end of the summer lull in an effort to maintain margins as the auto industry’s woes start to drag down the pricing of die-casting alloys.

The tea leaves from the London Metal Exchange (LME) are pointing downward for aluminum alloy. The LME’s aluminum contracts generally bottomed out July 21, rebounded for most of August and have now slid back toward July’s lows. Primary aluminum avoided falling quite that far. However, the LME’s North American special aluminum alloy contract was nearly 2 cents below its July trough for most of last week before staging a mild recovery.

The optimistic possibility is that lower U.S. aluminum scrap prices might soften the impact of the auto industry weakness domestically. However, many market participants are braced for a further decline.

American Metal Market August 30, 2006

Aluminum prices hold ground despite fears

August 31st, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

Despite concern that planned Midwest auto production cutbacks will eventually ripple into aluminum scrap markets, current pricing is generally flat. One smelter trimmed its price on mixed low-copper clips, but boosted old aluminum sheets and aluminum casts; while a seller in the Southeast reported prices generally up a penny. The across-the-board shifts in pricing were absent.

One factor cushioning markets against a price drop is that despite the headline-making auto production cutbacks, the automarkers are no longer the behemoths they once were. Inertia also plays a part in the current flat pricing. August traditionally is a quiet period, without ferocious bargaining.

At some yards, high prices for stainless steel scrap are pushing aluminum activity into the shadows. Some smelters are likely sitting on their hands for strategic reasons. Cutting aluminum scrap prices in a potentially weak ingot market can drag down the negotiated value of aluminum alloy.

AMM’s smelter buying prices show no change for mixed low-copper clips at 78 to 79 cents a pound or for old aluminum sheets and aluminum casts at 72 to 74 cents a pound.

American Metal Market August 24, 2006

North America Aluminum Use Strong but Output Off

August 30th, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

According to preliminary estimates from the Aluminum Association, aluminum demand in the United States and Canada totaled 2.238 billion pounds in June, up 3.8 percent from last year. Exports from North America totaled 467 million pounds in June, 24.4 percent higher than last year; while imports reached 528 million pounds, up 2.6 percent from last year. Although the demand for aluminum is strong right now, the primary aluminum production in North America has declined in July, lagging by 3.8 percent from July 2005.

American Metal Market August 29, 2006

Aluminum alloy pricing mounts; Feb. gains seen

August 22nd, 2006 / Aluminum Foil/Sheet

New York - the spot value of aluminum continues to climb on the back of an extremely tight scrap market. As one purchaser stated, “This market (is) like a runaway freight train.” As the market sits right now, the price is expected to continue its upward trend.

American Metal Market January 30, 2006