Aluminium Deutschland releases 2024 second quarter production figures
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Production in the German aluminium industry developed unevenly in the second quarter, Aluminium Deutschland has reported.
Aluminium recyclers recorded an increase in the period from April to June inclusive, with 725,000 tons of recycled aluminium (+4%). After the first half of the year, production levels are 2% below the previous year (1.4 million tons).
Rob van Gils, president of Aluminium Deutschland, emphasised: “Aluminium recycling is an essential building block for the decarbonisation of Europe and has enormous growth potential. The availability of scrap is essential for this. However, large quantities are exported from Europe and are not available. But without an adequate supply of scrap, we cannot achieve the goal of climate neutrality.”
The processing producers of aluminium semi-finished products almost reached the previous year’s level (-1%) in the second quarter, with 586,000 tons. In the first half of the year, they produced around 1.2 million tonnes of semi-finished products (-4%). Of these, manufacturers of rolled products recorded a comparatively moderate decline of 911,000 tonnes (-3%). The production of extruded aluminium products fell significantly more sharply (-9% to 247,000 tonnes).
Van Gils continued: “While other areas of the aluminium industry are recovering, the crisis continues for extruders. In particular, weak demand for electric cars and the poor situation in the construction industry continue to cause problems. The EU’s CO2 fleet targets for 2025 could see e-car production pick up speed towards the end of the year. In addition, the federal government must create much more attractive framework conditions for electromobility if it sticks to its targets for 2030.”