Primary aluminum production from North American smelters totaled 317,000 mt, up 2.3% from the year before and marking the ninth straight month of increases from year-ago levels, according to International Aluminium Institute data released Oct. 20.
But September's output was the second-lowest this year for the region, nearly hitting the 2020 low point of 314,000 mt IAI reported in February.
From January through September, North America's aluminum production totaled 2.98 million mt, up from 2.86 million mt in the same period of 2019, IAI data showed.
Year-on-year increases for the month and year-to-date period follow completion of a full production ramp-up at the 413,000 mt/year Aluminerie de Bécancour smelter in Quebec during the third quarter, which Alcoa confirmed in a call with investors Oct. 14.
During the call, Alcoa said it had also completed the full curtailment of its 279,000 mt/year Intalco smelter in Washington state in August.
In the US specifically, the Aluminum Association said the estimated annual rate of primary aluminum output, based on YTD data through September, totaled 899,900 mt, down 18.1% from the same period a year ago, a recent report showed.
The Aluminum Association's report also showed US production during September falling to an average of 2,459 mt/day from a 3,011 mt/d average in September 2019.
Canada's annual aluminum production is projected to reach 3.13 million mt in 2020 based on data through September, up from 2.84 million mt in the same period last year, according to a separate report from the Aluminum Association of Canada.
