Southeast Asia to drive growth in aluminium, says Japan's UACJ

Southeast Asia will be a key driver of growth for purchases of rolled aluminium used in everything from beverage cans to cars, said Japan's UACJ Corp, the world's third-largest producer.

Thailand and Indonesia will be regional centres for rolled-aluminium manufacturing in Southeast Asia, Takayoshi Nakano, managing executive officer at Tokyo-based UACJ, said at a CRU aluminium conference in Hong Kong. A shift to lighter cars is key to global demand growth, Nakano said.

Aluminium content in vehicles is rising about 5 per cent a year and growth will accelerate in the next decade as drivers seek improved fuel economy and lower emissions, according to Barclays plc.

Global demand for aluminium auto-sheet metal will grow 10-fold from 2015 through 2025, Timothy Reyes, President of Alcoa Inc's materials management division, said at the conference.

"Our customers in Southeast Asia have begun to demand more high-grade products," Nakano said on the sidelines at the conference.

The company is building a plant in Thailand and has almost sold out new capacity there until 2018, he said.