Aluminum will gain new prospects in transportation

In 2012, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association will actively promote the application of aluminum materials in the transportation field, including aluminum-type automobiles, and even the application of railroad cars and container aluminum. Industry experts believe that aluminum has a good application prospect in this field.

“In the use of links, electrolytic aluminum is an energy-saving product, especially for the transportation industry, the energy-saving effect of using all-aluminum vehicles is very obvious.” Wang Huajun, deputy secretary general of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and director of the Department of Information Statistics, disclosed.

The transportation industry is the second largest industry for aluminum consumption in China. As the industry gradually entered a period of rapid development, the amount of aluminum used has also begun to increase significantly. According to data from Beijing Antaike Information Development Co., Ltd., aluminum consumption in the transportation industry was 3.31 million tons in 2010, which is about 600,000 tons higher than that of the third largest power industry.

In the transportation sub-sector, the aluminum consumption of automobiles accounted for the largest proportion, nearly 70%, about 4.5% for containers, and 0.7% for rail vehicles. Antaike related experts, aluminum demand for automotive aluminum castings. During the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” period, the domestic auto manufacturing industry’s annual aluminum consumption growth rate was 20.9%. At present, China has such high-end industrial aluminum production capacity of Nanshan Aluminum, Zhongwang aluminum and other enterprises.

However, aluminum applications still face some challenges. Typical differences such as cost, and aluminum strength issues.

"China's current unit use of aluminum for passenger cars is only equivalent to the United States in the mid-1990s, about 92 kg / vehicle." Industry experts said that China's unit volume of aluminum and product structure there is room for gradual improvement, and The development prospects of the automotive, rail transit and aerospace industries in China are still promising. Coupled with the support of relevant industrial policies, it is believed that China’s aluminum consumption in the transportation sector will continue to show a growth trend.

There is a small supply gap in China's electrolytic aluminum this year. Next year, the national electrolytic aluminum production capacity will reach 27.1 million tons, and the output will exceed 20 million tons, reaching 21.89 million tons. The annual aluminum consumption will reach 22 million tons, and the supply and demand situation will tend to be balanced.