Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals found in the earth’s crust. Aluminum’s properties such as low metal density and its ability to resist corrosion make it the most favorable metal among the end-users. It is silvery white in color and be molded into very thin sheets having high strength and durability. Aluminum finds its application across many industries such as transportation, construction, packaging, consumer durables, electrical, machinery and equipment among others.
One of the key factors that contributes to the growth of aluminum market is the growing automobile industry. Increase in demand for light weight and fuel efficient vehicles is expected to boost the demand of aluminum in the automobile industry. On a global level, in the aluminum market China is the leading producer of aluminum followed by Russia and Canada. The aluminum market has witnessed an overall increase in the production capacity by the major producers across the world. High degree of vertical integration is another major trend witnessed in the aluminum market. Major aluminum manufacturers in the aluminum market are integrating their value chain in order to gain a significant control over the supply chain and offer the product to customers at reduced costs, thereby, increasing their market penetration. Aluminum market exhibits high degree of upstream as well as downstream integration. However, aluminum prices have witnessed an all time low over the recent past owing to oversupply in the aluminum market. Volatility of raw material prices of aluminum coupled with stringent government regulations is expected to restrain the growth of the market. Many efforts are carried out by the vendors in order to comply with the regulations vendors which further leads to higher operating and manufacturing cost of aluminum.