Cautious optimism in an economic recovery has been expressed by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) following publication of alufoil data for the first nine months of 2009. Latest figures show a 9.2 % fall to 569,200t in members’ alufoil production, compared with the first three quarters of 2008 but the figures for September 2009 compared with 2008 indicate that there are some green shoots of recovery.

A quietly confident Stefan Glimm, EAFA's Executive Director, said: “There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel but there are still many uncertainties in the market. We are particularly pleased with the performance of foils used for both flexible packaging and containers such as foil trays, where the signs of recovery are most pronounced.”

EAFA shipments* of thin foils, mainly used for flexible packaging and household foil, fell by only 3.2% to 327,500t for the first three quarters of 2009 compared with 2008. On the other hand, in line with the major recessionary impacts the worst affected area was automotive and construction which uses thicker foils, down 22.1% to 147,600 t. Sales within EAFA member countries* fell by 10 % while exports to other countries dropped by a modest 4.8%.