Author：Site  Source：Network  Click to rate：1771  Post time：2013-10-11

Aluminium is a relatively new metal – it was discovered in 1827 but could not be produced efficiently until 1895. Aluminium is a metal with a great future since it is strong, light in weight and can be recycled repeatedly.

New aluminium production can be brought on line considerably faster than production facilities for most of the other metals, which makes the industry considerably more responsive to consumption growth. This is one of the reasons why aluminium prices tend to lag behind the other metals when global growth is strong.

Aluminium competes with steel in many of its uses; although aluminium is considerably more expensive, it has the advantage of being lighter, corrosion resistant, a good conductor of electricity and strong when alloyed. Aluminium also competes with tin-plate, plastics and glass in the packaging industry and with copper in cable, wire and heat exchangers. Price differentials between these competing commodities and full life-cycle costings tend to determine which materials are winning and which are losing market share at any one time. Read more about uses of aluminium.