North American aluminum demand rises 1.4% year to date

Aluminum demand (shipments by domestic producers, plus imports) in the US and Canada totaled an estimated 3.908 billion lb through February, up 1.4% over the same time period last year, according to preliminary estimates released Friday by the Aluminum Association.

Demand for semi-fabricated (mill) products totaled 2.543 billion lb for January-February, rising 1.7% from a year ago. Apparent consumption (demand, less exports) in domestic markets totaled an estimated 3.252 billion lb, 2.2% above last year.

Exports of aluminum from the US and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totaled 656 million lb year to date, 2.3% below a year ago, while aluminum imports totaled 711 million lb, down 0.6% from last year.

Demand for aluminum semi-fabricated (mill) products in the US and Canada, which is measured in shipments by domestic producers plus imports, totaled an estimated 1.230 billion lb in February, 1.3% lower than the February 2012 total of 1.246 billion lb.

Aluminum sheet and plate totaled 692 million lb in February, down 5.4%, while extruded products were down 3.3% year on year to 283 million lb. Estimated shipments of aluminum ingot for castings, exports and other uses totaled 666 million lb, down 3% from last year.

Apparent consumption in domestic US and Canada markets totaled 1.565 billion lb in February, decreasing 0.8% from the February 2012 total of 1.578 billion lb.

Producer inventories totaled 2.628 billion lb in February, up 1.6% over the January level of 2.587 billion lb. Producer inventories were up 13% compared with the year before.

The US aluminum industry bought an estimated 366 million lb of aluminum scrap during February, according to aluminum recycling statistics that the US Bureau of the Census and Statistics Canada published. That is up 9.3% over the same period a year ago. Including scrap, exports totaled 675 million lb in February, down 8.75 from a year ago. Excluding scrap, exports totaled 331 million lb, down 6.8%.