Rio Forecasts New Aluminum Capacity Will Be Needed Outside China

Inventories to decline next 2-3 years, demand grow: Barrios
North American consumption also set to gain on EV revolution

Aluminum ingots sit stacked in a warehouse at the Port of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to release trade balance figures on October 5.Photographer: Alex Flynn/Bloomberg

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By James Thornhill

November 18, 2018 at 5:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Aluminum producers will need to build additional smelting capacity outside of China as inventories run down in the coming two to three years, according to Rio Tinto Group.

“We see aluminum demand growth being extremely healthy,” Alf Barrios, Rio’s aluminum chief executive officer, said in an interview. “People believed China was going to be a significant net exporter to the rest of the world in the future, I think people now see China being more balanced.”