In 2018, the global primary aluminum market experienced a supply deficit of 859,000 tonnes.

According to foreign reports on February 20, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) released a report on Wednesday showing that the global primary aluminum market posted a supply deficit of 859,000 tonnes for the full year 2018. In 2017, the market’s supply shortfall stood at 1.209 million tonnes. In 2018, China’s demand for primary aluminum totaled 6.0524 million tonnes, up 685,000 tonnes from the previous year. Meanwhile, primary aluminum production in 2018 increased by 1.036 million tonnes year over year.

Going forward, producer inventory data will no longer be published. The December report shows total inventories increased by 186,000 tonnes, up 58,000 tonnes from December 2017. LME inventories rose by 225,000 tonnes in December, driven by a 185,000‑tonne increase in Malaysia and a 45,000‑tonne rise at other registered warehouses across Asia.

As of the end of December, total aluminum inventories stood at 2.404 million tonnes, compared with 2.346 million tonnes at the end of 2017.

As of the end of December 2018, the combined inventories across the four major exchanges—London, Shanghai, the United States, and Tokyo—totaled 1.951 million tonnes, up 9,000 tonnes from the end of December 2017.

In 2018, global primary aluminum production increased by 1.8% year on year. China’s primary aluminum output was estimated at 33.586 million tonnes, accounting for 56% of the world’s total. China’s apparent demand for primary aluminum rose 4.4% year on year in 2018. In 2018, China’s net exports of unwrought aluminum totaled 363,000 tonnes, down from 365,000 tonnes the previous year. Meanwhile, China’s net exports of semi‑finished aluminum reached 4.681 million tonnes, up from 3.847 million tonnes the year before. In the European Union (EU) of 28 member states, primary aluminum production declined by 0.5% compared with the same period last year, while NAFTA production fell by 3.4%. Primary aluminum demand in the EU of 28 increased by 360,000 tonnes versus 2017. Globally, overall primary aluminum demand remained broadly unchanged in 2018. In December 2018, global primary aluminum production stood at 5.2421 million tonnes, while consumption during the same month was 5.1917 million tonnes.