MONTREAL--Aluminum supply will likely slightly exceed demand for the metal in 2007, but inventory levels are expected to remain near historical lows, Alcan Inc. president Dick Evans said today at the company's annual meeting.
"Aluminum, although prices were up significantly, improved its competitive position compared to other metals, especially copper, creating good opportunities for aluminum," Evans said.
"While prices are high by historic standards, they are likely to remain so longer, as the entire world cost curve has clearly shifted upwards significantly."
Evans also announced the company's commitment to join the United States Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of leading companies and non-governmental organizations calling on the U.S. Government to quickly enact strong national legislation to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
"At Alcan, we firmly believe that an emission trading system is one of the essential strategies to address the undesirable impacts of climate change, but in order for this to function properly, clear and consistent rules are required around the world," Evans said in a release.
"We look forward to working together with our colleagues in USCAP to achieve this objective."
Alcan also said Thursday it has begun engineering for the construction of a new high-efficiency turbine at its Shipshaw power generating station in the Saguenay region of Quebec.
The company plans to spend US$130 million on the project that replaces an older turbine, part of US$1.8 billion in spending announced last December.
Montreal-based Alcan has 68,000 employees in 61 countries, working in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal smelting, power generation and aluminium fabrication.
The company reported Tuesday a 30 per cent increase in first-quarter profit to US$591 million from $453 million a year ago.
Its shares edged down 12 cents to C$66.13 in morning trading in Toronto.
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