The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) in partnership with the Aluminum Association announced promising industry estimates for aluminum major markets on Monday, July 11. Most notable of its findings was the increase in total domestic consumption of aluminum extrusions, which totaled over 5 billion pounds in 2015 – a growth of 4.6 percent compared to the 2014 total of 4.89 billion pounds.

This impressive result marks the sixth consecutive year of aluminum extrusion’s consistent growth, quickly approaching the peak growth realized in 2006.

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“What is most exciting about these results is the growth the industry is realizing overall, especially in automotive applications,” said Jeff Henderson, President of the Aluminum Extruders Council. Whereas in years past growth has been attributed to one or two major end use markets, this year showed a profound growth across the board. This is welcome news for us at Taber Extrusions, where we consistently diversify our extrusion products by supplying some of the most complex and unique extrusions to consumers in almost every industry imaginable.

graph 2While building and construction applications continue to make up the dominant industry consumer of aluminum extrusions at 37.4 percent, the transportation (automotive) industry is fast-approaching as the new dominant force, making up 31.8 percent of extrusion shipments and showing a total growth of 8.7 percent compared to last year. As demands grow for more sustainable, lighter cars Taber Extrusions is well-equipped to handle the increasing needs for automotive applications from casting custom alloys to extrusion and a wide array of aluminum fabrication services.

We look forward to finishing up 2015 with another year of expansion, diversity, and innovation. Here’s to six more years of growth!