According to figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), aluminium foil deliveries were down 4.5% in Q2, compared to 2019. Total deliveries came in at 234,000 tonnes.
In H1 2020, aluminium foil production declined 2.0% to 476,000 tonnes.
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“Aluminium foil deliveries inside Europe stayed relatively strong thanks to more demand for some gauges used in packaging application, during the current pandemic. Exports continued to decline due to lockdowns in many economies and disrupted supply chains,” EAFA said.
Domestic deliveries of thinner gauges, mainly used for flexible packaging and household foils, increased marginally (0.3%) in Q2. European deliveries of all gauges in H1 rose 0.5% over last year. Overall there was a small drop in total deliveries for thinner gauges, down 0.6% in the first half.
Deliveries of thicker gauges impacted due to coronavirus. That was down 10% in Q2, leading to an overall drop of 4.4% for the first six months.
“Unsurprisingly exports have been negatively affected by the global situation, as many traditionally strong overseas markets are badly disrupted. Q2 saw deliveries fall over ten percent and this figure also reflects the downturn in exports for the first half of the year.”
Bruno Rea, EAFA President said, “While the strong demand for food and pharmaceutical packaging can partially compensate the drops in exports and technical applications it is not something we want to see continue. Hopefully Q3 will see resumptions in construction and car production.
“Fortunately, the majority of European foil rollers have continued almost normal production, despite the difficulties. We expect the demand for packaging applications to return to typical levels while technical applications and exports will remain weaker. Nevertheless, we are more optimistic than at the very beginning of the pandemic.”
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