China - Dateline, Recent

Storyline:
Chinese aluminum producers turn up the heat on rising prices

[Voice_over]

China's aluminum industry is scaling up output to take advantage of rising prices for the metal.

At a plant in eastern China, production of aluminum ingots - widely used in the automotive and energy industries - has shifted into high gear.

With both demand and prices for aluminum on the rise, the company says they have virtually zero inventory.

[Sound_bite]

Li Wenchao, deputy general manager, electrolytic aluminum factory:

"Demand is so high that there’s basically no surplus available for new customers. At the moment, what’s produced is sold in no time, with virtually no inventories. We predict that the market will remain strong for the foreseeable future."

[Voice_over]

Elsewhere in the city, production lines are also operating at full capacity to crank out alumina, a crucial raw material for aluminum production.

[Sound_bite]

Xu Liangzhen, executive deputy general manager, alumina producer:

"We are seeing a boom in production and sales. What we produced is sold within the same month."

[Voice_over]

Spot aluminum prices in China hit a 22-month high of more than 2,800 U.S. dollars per ton in mid-April.

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