ALUMINUM MARKET ANALYSIS

Regional Analysis

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The North America region has dominated the global aluminum market with 38.7% share in 2024, for decades and continues to hold the largest share. The U.S. in particular, has a long-established and robust aluminum industry presence across the entire value chain from bauxite mining and alumina refining to primary aluminum production and semi-fabricated product manufacturing. Major aluminum companies, including Novelis, Alcoa, and Arconic call North America home and cater to the huge domestic demand while also exporting globally. The region also benefits from easy access to affordable energy sources like natural gas which is vital for the power-intensive aluminum smelting process. Moreover, the U.S. imposes section 232 tariffs on aluminum imports which provides a further boost to domestic players. With a large domestic market as well as strong protective trade policies, North America-based aluminum producers enjoy economies of scale and pricing advantages over international rivals. Local manufacturing and avoiding import duties allows them to competitively supply both construction as well as transportation sectors that are major downstream consumers.

Among developing markets, the Asia Pacific region is emerging as the fastest growing market for aluminum. Countries like China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam have shown significant year-on-year increases in both aluminum production and consumption. This is mainly driven by the rapid industrialization and ongoing infrastructure development taking place across Southeast Asia to support strong economic growth. The aluminum demand from the booming construction industries as well as from areas like transportation, consumer durables, and packaging is surging in tandem. The availability of low-cost power, proximity to bauxite reserves and ease of doing business have attracted global aluminum majors to set up production facilities across Southeast Asian countries. Countries like China and India also offer a large protected domestic market for aluminum sales. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian nations are also increasingly engaging in regional trade to mutual benefit, thereby further augmenting the aluminum demand and consumption in the region.