Billet premiums over $800/t continue to erode margins

摘要

CRU's delivered North German billet premium is $830/t, up $305/t from the beginning of the year. Extruders with annual conversion margins agreed with consumers have seen their profit margins eroded and are seeking to renegotiate these deals with their buyers. Numerous extruders expressed a desire for the billet premium to move to an upcharge basis over the ingot premium, as is the case in North America. This is something that was proposed by large primary aluminium producers in 2012/13 but was not accepted by the extruders.