SMM News, November 28:
According to SMM statistics, overseas aluminum production in November 2025 increased 2.1% YoY; the average monthly operating rate was 88.8%, down 0.3 percentage points MoM but up 0.5 percentage points YoY. By the end of November, cumulative production in 2025 had risen 2.8% YoY.
On October 21, Century Aluminum Company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Norðurál Grundartangi ehf, had temporarily halted one of the two electrolysis cell production lines at its Grundartangi aluminum smelter in Iceland due to an electrical equipment failure. The smelter's second electrolysis cell line was unaffected and continued operating at full capacity. The shutdown reduced the smelter's output by approximately two-thirds. No casualties occurred during the incident. On November 6, Century Aluminum Company stated during its Q3 earnings call that the production halt is expected to reduce Q4 shipments by 37,000 mt; the restart of the line depends on the manufacturing, transportation, and installation speed of the replacement power transformer, which is estimated to take 11–12 months.
The first phase of the Indonesian aluminum project, PT Kalimantan Aluminium Industry, with a capacity of 500,000 mt, began commissioning electrolysis cells at the end of November and is expected to reach full production in the first phase by October 2026.
Looking ahead to December, the operating capacity of Indonesia's newly commissioned aluminum project is expected to gradually ramp up, and daily average aluminum production is projected to increase. However, the new project is also expected to raise existing aluminum capacity, diluting the global aluminum operating rate. The overseas aluminum operating rate in December is forecast at approximately 87.7%, down 1.1 percentage points MoM and 0.7 percentage points YoY.
