Aluminium_Lieferverzeichnis_2022_Leseprobe

REDAKTIONELLER TEIL
EDITORIAL SECTION
Aluminum 2022: High demand coupled with highly
volatile prices
The recovery of the global economy which began in
2021 is expected to continue in 2022. In some regions
the catch-up process could intensify further. At the
same time, however, the sharp rise in demand in 2021
has led to a significant increase in raw material prices.
Important global megatrends such as those relating to
climate protection and resource efficiency will continue
to accompany us in the coming years.
Differentiated race to catch up in the global
economy
Once again, China is likely to prove the global growth
engine in 2022 due to its great economic weight while
India is expected to achieve higher growth rates (see
Chart 1). China started a strong catch-up process in
2021 with quarterly growth of over 18% compared with
the same quarter of the previous year. However, the
first quarter of 2020 was also highly burdened by the
Chinese New Year in January 2020 and a lockdown immediately
following. China’s impressive growth at the
beginning of 2021 is particularly remarkable in view
of the fact, that a number of other regions, including
Germany, were still in a renewed lockdown at that time.
Nevertheless, in the first quarter of 2021 China placed
many orders with the European machinery and automotive
industries.
In addition, the economy picked up strongly, especially
in the USA. The vaccination campaign, which also gained
momentum in the first weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency,
allowed very rapid easing of pandemic restrictions.
The extensive infrastructure package and
the new government’s program of measures to combat
the consequences of Corona are boosting the markets.
Positive impetus for the global economy also resulted
from the end of the American blockade policy in trade
restrictions with important partners.
15 %
10 %
5 %
0 %
-5 %
-10 %
-15 %
Slide 1
2020P 2021P 2022P
total World Europe USA United Kingdom Japan India China
The situation in Western Europe was different: The
pandemic led to a continuation of the lockdown in
many countries, in some cases into the second quarter.
In Germany, this again resulted in a decline in gross
domestic product, but other countries were also still
struggling with the pandemic. The UK initially succeeded
in vaccinating parts of the population quickly, but
in June 2021, incidence figures rose sharply again as a
result of mutant Delta, leading to an extension of parts
of the Corona protection measures.
In emerging countries such as India, Brazil or South Africa,
on the other hand, there is still no end to the pandemic
in sight. The case numbers in India, which have
exploded in the meantime and which, according to a
number of medical experts, only represent the tip of the
iceberg, are limiting the growth of India’s gross domestic
product in 2021.
Aluminium Lieferverzeichnis 2022 | 09