Aluminum extruders eye 2013 uptick

Dec 20, 2012 | 02:19 PM | Suzy Waite

Tags  aluminum, extrusion, billet, building and construction, automotive, extrusion demand, billet, Alcoa ABI

LONDON — Aluminum extrusion demand is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 10 percent in 2013, market participants and analysts said, although they cautioned that some end-markets—notably truck trailer—could experience a slowdown in growth.

"I’m expecting 2013 to be good, provided the fiscal cliff gets resolved. It won’t be great, but it will be good," an extruder said.

"We’re projecting 7- to 10-percent growth (for extrusions overall)," a second extruder told AMM.

Automotive is one sector that will experience an uptick, but not nearly at the same breakneck pace as this year, sources said.

"(Auto) sales have had a very strong recovery out of the recession. This is typical in the first few years of a recovery, when there is some snap back in big-ticket items like cars," Davenport & Co. LLC research analyst Tim Hayes said. "We expect that growth rate to slow next year."

Still, Richmond, Va.-based Davenport is forecasting an 11.3-percent gain in automotive extrusion shipments to 442 million pounds in 2013 from 397 million pounds this year.....