By  Paul Ploumis 25 Sep 2015  Last updated at  08:34:54 GMT

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The Aluminum exports from the US and Canada declined sharply by 23.5% during the initial seven-month period of the year. The exports totaled 1.671 billion lb during this period. Meantime, imports surged higher by 19.3% year-on-year to 3.563 million lb. The above figures are in accordance with the latest trade data released by the Aluminum Association.

As per trade data, the aluminum demand in the US and Canada were up by 2.4% during Jan-July ’15. The demand, inclusive of domestic producer shipments plus imports, totaled 15.158 billion. The demand for semi-fabricated mill products were up by 7.2% over the previous year to total 10.927 billion lb. Meantime, apparent aluminum consumption during the seven-month period totaled 13.487 billion lb, up by 6.9% when matched with the previous year.

The semi-fabricated aluminum products demand during the month of July ’15 alone totaled 1.578 billion lb. The demand for aluminum sheet and plate rose nearly 3% during July this year to 861 million lb. The extruded product demand totaled 472 million lb, rising sharply by 6% year-on-year.

The producer inventories were up by 2.5% from 2.978 billion lb in June ’15 to 3.052 billion lb in July. When compared with July ’14, the producer inventories were up by 7.9% at the end of the seventh month of the current year.

The scrap purchases by the US aluminum industry amounted to 769 million lb during the month of July, down 1.9% year-on-year. Nearly 665 million lb of aluminum and alloys were recovered from scrap during the month. The recovery rates dropped by 1.8% compared to the previous year. Meantime, the aluminum recovery from scrap during Jan-July ’15 totaled 4.619 billion lb.