Mexican Media Brands
Auto Industry Demand Bolsters Aluminum Prices
Growing use of aluminum as a weight-saving material in cars is helping the metal maintain its price in a commodities market where other materials are in a slump, Bloomberg News reports.
#aluminum
Share
Growing use of aluminum as a weight-saving material in cars is helping the metal maintain its price in a commodities market where other materials are in a slump, Bloomberg News reports.
Aluminum prices peaked at $2,800 per metric ton in 2011. Today the metal costs about one-third less. Still, Bloomberg points out, aluminum has held its price so far this year compared with declines of 8% for iron and 14% for copper.
The news service attributes the metal's relative success to the auto industry's quest for ways to reduce vehicle weight, coupled with new manufacturing methods that are making more applications practical.
United Co. Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer, tells Bloomberg that automotive demand for the metal is likely to surge two-thirds to 23 million metric tons by 2020. Alcoa Inc. says the use of sheet aluminum for vehicle body panels will nearly quadruple to 1.8 million tons by 2025.
RELATED CONTENT
-
The Koenigsegg Jesko Has An Amazing Engine
It is hard to believe that this is a vehicle in “serial” production with such extraordinary powertrain performance
-
Increasing Use of Structural Adhesives in Automotive
Can you glue a car together? Frank Billotto of DuPont Transportation & Industrial discusses the major role structural adhesives can play in vehicle assembly.
-
Jeep Goes Gladiator
According to Tim Kuniskis, Head of Jeep Brand-North America, Jeep is the most-recognized vehicle on the planet, and while he is probably more than somewhat biased in this assessment, he is also probably right.