Rusal will keep the utilization of production facilities at 80 percent

One of the world's largest aluminum companies, Russia's Rusal, announced that it had no plans to increase capacity utilization during the rest of the year, despite rising aluminum prices. The company intends to cap its aggregate aluminum production to 1.8 million tonnes between July and December this year. The enterprise will operate at less than 80 percent of its capacity.

The company plans to monitor the economic viability of production. Rusal made a number of cuts in high-cost production facilities during the first half of 2014. The company announced that it has no plans to restart the shutdown or expand existing facilities. According to the company, the launch of the Boguchansky plant is being delayed, since it is necessary to commission new equipment and machines, including pipe bending machine , mechanical presses and more.

The company expects aluminum prices to remain positive in the second half of this year, which could also improve its profitability. However, Rusal notes that global aluminum producers are reluctant to increase production due to several factors influencing value formation, including tariffs, labor costs and raw material costs.

According to the data, production of primary aluminum ingots, billets, slabs and casting alloys by Rusal in the first half of 2014 amounted to 1.7 million tonnes, which is almost 11 percent lower compared to the corresponding six-month period in 2013. The company estimates production for the full year 2014 is 3.5 million tonnes.