Alcoa sees global aluminium use expanding 7% this year

Toronto

ALCOA Inc, the largest US aluminium producer, forecast global use to grow 7 per cent this year as automakers use more of the lightweight metal and orders from the aerospace industry accelerate.

Demand for commercial and regional jets will help boost aerospace sales by as much as 10 per cent this year, chairman and chief executive officer Klaus Kleinfeld said on Monday on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. Sales to US automotive customers - including Ford Motor Co, which introduced its all-aluminium F-150 pick-up in November - are projected to rise 5.8 per cent.