The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has positively affected the automotive sector in the four years since its implementation and automakers are increasingly investing in zero-emission and hybrid vehicles, according to the US Trade Representative (USTR)

Brazilian aluminium producer Alumar has strategically entered the low value-added tax (VAT) market in the São Paulo region since the beginning of 2024, market participants told Fastmarkets over the last month.

Rio Tinto will install carbon-free aluminium smelting cells at its Arvida smelter in Quebec, Canada, using the first technology license issued by ELYSIS, the company announced on Friday June 28

Hefty copper concentrate costs amid a sustained supply deficit are expected to cause most global copper smelters to run below costs from 2025 onwards, sources told Fastmarkets at the sidelines of LME Asia Week 2024 in Hong Kong on Thursday June 27

Tightness in raw material supply has driven Fastmarkets’ copper and zinc treatment charges (TCs) to all-time lows, while lead concentrate TCs have hit intra-year lows. Fastmarkets looks at the common themes driving the downward movements

Copper demand remains weak in China and Europe, with some European sources noting liquidity heading to the US while others note the market is slightly less quiet than the previous month and American sources agree that the market appears to be stabilizing from previous highs

Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia and its MB-ALU-0010 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which were published incorrectly on Tuesday June 25 due to a back end calculation error.

Mexican secondary aluminium alloy smelter and distributor of primary metals ARZYZ Metals expects that the company’s new project to produce domestic flat-rolled products (FRP) will reduce Mexico's dependence on imports, a press officer told Fastmarkets on Monday June 24

The German auto-manufacturer BMW opened its first press shop in North America at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it will produce the exterior for its X3 model, the company announced on Friday June 21

China’s exports of refined copper rose to an eight-year high in May, with exports expected to stay elevated through June, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday June 21