A business source told EIR that aluminium suppliers are warning customers that by the end of the year there will be no aluminum available, because production is stopping, due to high energy prices. Copper is getting scarce as well.
In some countries, producers get government support for electricity prices, but in others they are forced to shut down production, as in the recent case of Dutch aluminium producer Aldel, which suspended production of primary aluminum on Monday, due to the high cost of electricity.
Another cause for aluminum scarcity has been the drop in magnesium production in China in September and October, due to blackouts and energy-saving measures. At the end of October, the European Association of Carmakers (ACEA) warned that magnesium stocks in Europe would be exhausted at the end of November, leading to “squeezes in production, closure of factories and the related loss of jobs.” The China expert at the Deutsche Rohstoffagentur (Dera), Yun Schüler-Zhou, said, “Production volumes for next month in China are barely estimable. We don’t know how much and when magnesium will be available for export.” He continued, “The situation could worsen at the end of the year, when they must have reached energy consumption targets for the last quarter.”
Metal-producing industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Metalle has called on the German government to “start urgent diplomatic talks with China” in order to ensure supplies for German industry.
