End-use market Wrought products Other statistical sources Primary aluminium Recycled aluminium

Statistics

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The European aluminium industry

Alu sector in Europe

This scheme gives a good overview of the structure and the importance of the different parts of the Aluminium industry in Europe in 2006.

Europe produces 4.7 million tonnes of bauxite, and have to import a multiple of it, an extra 14.6 million tonnes for its total needs.
The total tonnage of bauxite is processed into 8.6 million tonnes of alumina production in Europe.
Also here Europe needs to import another 2.7 million tonnes to fullfill the demand of the primary producers in Europe.
From a total aluminium metal supply of 13.2 million tonnes in 2006, 39% is produced by European primary smelters, 22% is net-imported and 39% is recycled by European refiners and remelters.

Total demand for wrought and semi fabrication is about 12.4 million tonnes in Europe, whereof 90% in the European Union.
Finally the total aluminium metal is processed into 4.8 million tonnes rolled products by 57 rolling mills,
into 3.3 million tonnes extruded products by around 300 extrusion plants
into 3.4 million tonnes of castings by more than 2400 users of casting alloys,
and another 1.0 million tonnes is produced in the form of wire, slugs, powder and some other applications.

Imports and exports

Using about 8 million tonnes and producing 5 million tonnes, Europe imports around 3 million tonnes of primary aluminium per year. Semi-fabricated rolled products have a net-export position of approximately 0.2 million tonnes. Extrusions produced are all used in Europe, with very small quantities being net-imported.

Markets

The transport, building and packaging sectors are the most important markets for aluminium products. The remaining part goes into applications such as electrical and mechanical engineering, office equipment, domestic appliances, lighting, chemistry and pharmaceuticals.

End-use markets chart

Employment

The most recent estimate for the total workforce in the European Aluminium industry amounts to 236.570 persons. This number includes the 15 EU countries plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. In the European union the workforce in the aluminium industry counts about 200.000 persons. The indirect employment of persons working with aluminium can amount to 1 million persons in Europe.

Shipments of foilstock make up the largest end-use market for rolled products, 22%, in Western Europe. In 2006, rigid packaging accounted for 19% of all flat rolled products shipments, the share of stockists increased to 18%, while the transport market was close to 14%.

Aluminium use per capita in the world

Alu use per capita2

The average use per capita in the world is about 20 kilo. In the EU the use reaches 25 kilo's. The per capita use varies widely from country to country and ranged between 5 and 40 kilos. In the two other major aluminium using areas, US and Japan, the use per capita was 30 and 33 kilo's respectively in 2006. China, the largest single aluminium consuming country, has reached 8 kilos per capita.

Source: National Aluminium Associations and EAA.
® compared to annual report last year.