Rusal's customers return with 20-30% of usual aluminum demand
2020-06-02 10:18:15 [Print]
Aluminum producer Rusal is seeing customers returning with 20-30% of their usual demand after a slump in April caused by fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, said Roman Andryushin, its head of sales and marketing.
Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer outside China, has had to deal with a drop in demand from major consumers of its metal - car and aviation industries - but the second quarter of 2020 is likely to be the worst of the crisis.
He hopes that 50% of Rusal's customers' usual demand will be back in June-July.
Rusal produced 3.8 million tons of aluminum in 2019.
Suspension of production by many aluminum-consuming industries has hit Rusal and other aluminum producers hard in March-May, Andryushin said.
Car and aviation industries were the hardest hit by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdowns imposed to contain its spread. But the company managed to increase supplies to industries that were less directly affected such as food packaging, cans for drinks and foil.
The market mood is improving now as Europe, which usually accounts for 50% of Rusal's sales, eases lockdown restrictions and China imports aluminum as the recovery there boosts trade.
"That certainly does not mean that all the problems are over," Andryushin said. The global aluminum market is unlikely to come back to the pre-coronavirus level in 2020, but he said he was more optimistic about 2021-2022.
Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer outside China, has had to deal with a drop in demand from major consumers of its metal - car and aviation industries - but the second quarter of 2020 is likely to be the worst of the crisis.
He hopes that 50% of Rusal's customers' usual demand will be back in June-July.
Rusal produced 3.8 million tons of aluminum in 2019.
Suspension of production by many aluminum-consuming industries has hit Rusal and other aluminum producers hard in March-May, Andryushin said.
Car and aviation industries were the hardest hit by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdowns imposed to contain its spread. But the company managed to increase supplies to industries that were less directly affected such as food packaging, cans for drinks and foil.
The market mood is improving now as Europe, which usually accounts for 50% of Rusal's sales, eases lockdown restrictions and China imports aluminum as the recovery there boosts trade.
"That certainly does not mean that all the problems are over," Andryushin said. The global aluminum market is unlikely to come back to the pre-coronavirus level in 2020, but he said he was more optimistic about 2021-2022.
Aluminum Alloy ADC12 FOB China
Unit:USD/mt
China secondary aluminum alloy producers' inventory statistics by province by month
Unit: mt
