German aluminium industry faces unprecedented challenges as production decline persists

In the smelters, the primary aluminium production volume dropped by nearly 50 per cent, and the manufacturing of semi-finished aluminium products saw a decline in the high single-digit percentage range.

Specifically, raw aluminium production decreased by 8 per cent to approximately 774,000 tonnes in the third quarter. Over the initial three quarters of the year, the total output amounted to just over 2.3 million metric tons, marking an 11 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. The production of primary aluminium saw a significant decline of 48 per cent from January to September, with smelters producing around 147,000 tonnes. This is a substantial drop from the 391,000 tonnes produced during the same period in the prior year (Q1-Q3 2021).

The further processing of aluminium into semi-finished products also experienced a notable 8 per cent reduction in the third quarter, resulting in an output of nearly 607,000 tonnes. Among manufacturers of extruded products, the decline was even more significant, at 17 per cent, while the production of rolled products decreased to a comparatively milder extent, by 6 per cent. In total, 1.8 million tonnes of semi-finished products were manufactured in Germany during the first three quarters of the year, indicating a 10 per cent decrease.