The weekly Davis Index for A380.1 fell by 0.7¢/lb to 1.17¢/lb delivered US consumer amid slow sales and tepid demand from the automotive industry.
Most smelters are diversifying into other end-consumer industries like electric, household, lawn, and recreation as the impact of the semiconductor shortage becomes increasingly apparent in the automotive industry. In doing so, they have successfully mitigated the decline in demand. In fact, excluding automotive, demand continues to outpace supply by a large margin.
Ongoing issues with labor are limiting suppliers from ramping up production to meet market demand. Freight is still a big factor in prices for secondary ingots and while scrap is readily available, most smelters are not buying aggressively at the current, multi-year high price levels.
The index for A356.1 rose by 2.4¢/lb to $1.316/lb delivered US consumer, in tandem with increased cost of raw material, A356 wheels. Some suppliers quoted as high as $1.40/lb for the high-grade spec (0.15pc Fe). Meanwhile A413.1 fell by 0.8¢/lb to $1.262/lb delivered. A360.1 prices rose by 0.5¢/lb to $1.268/lb delivered. The index for 319.1 inched up by 0.2¢/lb to $1.244/lb delivered.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Friday at $2,518.50/mt ($1.105/lb), down by $80.50/mt from May 7.