This Morning in Metals: Ford’s China sales fall 26% in 2019

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This morning in metals news, 2019 proved to be a down year for Ford Motor Company’s sales in China, Norsk Hydro plans to ramp up production of recycled aluminum this year and Rio Tinto awarded an A$400 million contract for the design of a new mine in Australia’s Pilbara.
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Ford sales drop in China

Ford saw its sales in the Chinese market drop 26.1% in 2019 compared with the previous year, according to the company’s most recent sales results release.
Ford sold 567,854 vehicles in China last year.

“2019 was a challenging year for the Chinese automotive market and for Ford in China. While our sales declined primarily in the value segment, the decline continued to narrow in the second half and saw the stabilization of our shares in the high-to-premium segments,” said Anning Chen, president and CEO of Ford Greater China. “The pressure from the external environment and downward trend of the industry volume will continue in 2020, and we will put more efforts into strengthening our product lineup with more customer-centric products and customer experiences to mitigate the external pressure and improve dealers’ profitability.”

Norsk Hydro aims to boost recycled aluminum production

CIRCAL, a Norsk Hydro aluminum brand, produces aluminum with a “minimum 75 percent recycled post-consumer scrap and a certified carbon footprint below 2.3 kg CO2 per kg aluminium,” according to the Norwegian firm.
This year, Hydro plans to augment its CIRCAL program by increasing annual production to 25,000 tons, the company announced. Hydro plans to upgrade and expand its Azuqueca recycling plant in Spain.

Rio Tinto awards A$400M mine design contract

Rio Tinto has awarded a A$400 million contract for the design of a new mine in Australia’s Pilbara region, the company announced.
The miner awarded the contract to Perth-based Mondium for the construction of the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine in Western Australia.
Keep up to date on everything going on in the world of trade and tariffs via MetalMiner’s Trade Resource Center.
According to Rio Tinto, the work will create approximately 450 jobs and is expected to be completed in 2021.

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