This Morning in Metals: Norsk Hydro updates on April, May production levels

Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte refinery. Source: Norsk Hydro

This morning in metals news, Norsk Hydro’s primary aluminum, bauxite and alumina production levels were up in April and May, the Aluminum Association reiterates its stance against the reimposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum, and April U.S. steel shipments fell 31.5%.

Norsk Hydro updates on production levels

Ahead of its quarterly production release next month, Norsk Hydro updated on productions levels through April and May.
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Bauxite and alumina production totaled 1,761 kmt, up 94% from the same period in 2019. Primary metal production ticked up 5% to 341 kmt.

Aluminum Association: no aluminum tariffs for Canada

The Aluminum Association issued a statement reiterating its stance against reimposing aluminum tariffs on Canadian aluminum (which were rescinded vis-a-vis both Canada and Mexico in May 2019).
“There are clear problems with the Section 232 program but efforts to ‘Blame Canada’ miss the mark,” Aluminum Association President and CEO Tom Dobbins said. “To the extent the industry has seen a ‘surge’ in foreign imports in recent years, it has been in flat-rolled aluminum products from countries receiving Section 232 product exclusions. Many of these imports are the subject of ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty cases. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this issue, but facts are facts. Imports of primary aluminum from Canada today are consistent with long-term trends long pre-dating the imposition of Section 232 tariffs.”

U.S. steel shipments down in April

U.S. steel shipments fell 31.5% in April compared with April 2019 levels, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported.
April shipments reached 5.62 million net tons, down 27.9% decrease from the previous month and 31.5% from April 2019.
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Year-to-date shipments reached 29.73 million net tons, down 8.1% from the first four months of 2019.

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