US and Canadian aluminum demand, measured by domestic producer shipments plus imports, totaled 18.409 billion lb in the first eight months of 2017, up 3.6% year on year, preliminary estimates from the Aluminum Association show. Demand for semi-fabricated (mill) products totaled 13.328 billion lb, up 5.6%, the figures show.
Apparent consumption -- demand less exports -- in the US and Canada totaled an estimated 16.426 billion lb, up 4.6% year on year.
Exports of aluminum ingot and mill products from the US and Canada -- excluding cross-border trade -- totaled 1.983 billion lb through August in 2017, down 3.6% compared with the same period last year, while imports rose 26.4% to 6.263 billion lb.
In August alone, demand for aluminum semi-fabricated (mill) products in the US and Canada -- shipments by domestic producers plus imports -- totaled an estimated 1.718 billion lb, up 3.3% compared with the August 2016 total of 1.662 billion lb, the data show.
Shipments of aluminum sheet and plate totaled 944 million lb in August, up 2.5% year on year. Extruded product shipments were up 5.7% year over year to 518 million lb. Estimated shipments of aluminum ingot for castings, exports and other uses totaled 683 million lb, down 6.2% compared with a year ago, according to the trade group.
Apparent consumption in domestic US and Canada markets totaled 2.137 billion lb in August, up 0.9% compared with the August 2016 total of 2.117 billion lb.
Producer inventories totaled 3.070 billion lb in August, up 2.7% from the July level of 2.989 billion lb. Compared to a year ago, producer inventories were up 3.6%.
Aluminum imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the US and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totaled 800 million lb in August 2017, up 18.9% compared with the August 2016 total of 673 million lb. Including scrap, which accounted for around 53.8% of reported aluminum exports in August, exports totaled 572 million lb, up 3% from a year ago. Excluding scrap, exports totaled 264 million lb, down 3.3% over last year. Exports of scrap increased 9.2% year over year.
Through the first eight months of 2017, total imports rose 27.5% to 6.738 billion lb, while exports were up 4.4% to 4.197 billion lb.
The US aluminum industry purchased an estimated 732 million lb of aluminum scrap in July, according to the US Geological Survey, up 0.9% compared with a July 2016 total of 725 million lb. USGS estimates recovery of aluminum and aluminum alloys totaled 668 million lb, an increase of 1.6% year over year.
Through the first seven months of 2017, preliminary data indicate that recovery of aluminum from scrap totaled an estimated 4.718 billion lb, up 2.5% compared with the year-ago total of 4.603 billion lb. US exports of scrap, not included in the government's consumption statistics, totaled 1.907 billion lb through July, up 13.4% from the same period in 2016.
