Strong year for the German aluminum industry

Higher volumes, more sales – only energy prices spoil the joy.

After the corona year of 2020, the German aluminum industry has once again achieved pleasing figures. In 2021, industry sales rose by 23 percent to 21.7 billion euros. And with that, emphasizes Hinrich Mählmann, president of Aluminium Deutschland, the level of 2018 has almost been reached again.

The production volume of semi-finished products rose by 11.7 percent to just under 2.7 million metric tons. Production of raw aluminum remained stable at more than one million tons. However, in view of the massive increase in energy prices, production was cut by 16.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

Overall, there is optimism for the current year, says association managing director Marius Baader: "The imponderables have not disappeared, but we are learning to deal with them better." He is also pleased with the well-filled order books of industrial customers.

Read the detailed assessment from Aluminium Deutschland here (German).