According to the European Aluminum Foil Association, in Europe, the data of aluminum foil production in the first quarter is quite disappointing. However, entering the second quarter, there was a welcome increase after a long period of decline that stretched as long as early 2023. Total shipments recovered strongly, rising 6.6% from the same period in 2023 to 227,000 tonnes. According to data released by the European Aluminum Foil Association (EAFA) on August 27, domestic deliveries to Europe have grown strongly, however, exports are still performing poorly.
Double zero aluminum foil, mainly used for flexible packaging and household foil, rose the most, increasing by more than 8% over the same period in 2023. In Europe, demand rose by almost 10 per cent. Single-zero aluminum foil for semi-rigid aluminum foil containers, technology or other applications grew by 4% overall, but European deliveries again increased by nearly 7% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Exports continue to decline, a trend that has been evident since mid-2023, when overseas demand increases significantly. Deliveries outside Europe were down nearly 9 percent, with double-zero foil outperforming single-zero foil, but both declined. According to EAFA, this reflects supply chain issues and intense competition from Chinese and other local suppliers.
Overall, total deliveries in the first half of the year amounted to 446,000 tons, showing a slight upward trend, which confirms the recovery in the second quarter. Sales in the European region even rose 3 percent, while exports remained weak.
Reviewing the figures, Bruno Rea, Chairman of EAFA's Rolling Division, said: "The last quarter showed signs that depressed market conditions in Europe are bottoming out. These figures seem to confirm this, showing a healthy increase in demand from European customers. Of course, we are not yet at the level of 2022, but there were some exceptions to the demand then. That seems to suggest that destocking is now completely over."
"Exports remain a problem, but the competitive situation is bound to have an impact as overseas markets return to full production. While exports account for a smaller proportion of production, we expect some recovery in 2024. We are more optimistic about Europe as the underlying demand in the first half of 2024 has certainly improved compared to the last six months of 2023 and we expect this to continue through the end of the year."
