U.S. industrial demand for aluminum is growing, but is not at a level where Alcoa Inc will bring back production capacity it idled after the recession, Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said on Tuesday.
He also told Reuters in an interview that the commercial construction industry in the United States and Europe may not have yet hit bottom.
Although Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, has restarted elements of three smelters that had been curtailed, "we're not talking about gigantic capacity additions here."
"We continue to monitor the （economic） environment. But we don't feel the current environment is such that we want to bring capacity back," Kleinfeld said.
He said the company still expects 12-percent global growth in aluminum demand this year, with the aerospace, auto, consumer electronics and packaging picking up substantially.
"The only one that is lagging behind here in the U.S. and Europe is real estate （construction） and we might not have hit the trough yet," Kleinfeld said.（Reuters）
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