Aluminium foil market stabilises in second quarter – marked upturn in June

Following a subdued start to the year, demand for aluminium foil stabilised in the second quarter of 2026. Total deliveries by EAFA member companies amounted to around 238,000 tonnes between April and June, up 0.6% compared with the same period last year. This represents a significantly more positive development than in the challenging first quarter.

Both deliveries within Europe and exports remained broadly stable in the second quarter. European deliveries edged up by 0.8% year-on-year, while exports outside Europe were virtually unchanged at -0.6%. June was particularly encouraging, marking the first clearly positive monthly result this year.

The picture remains mixed across the different foil gauges. While deliveries of thinner foil below 60 µm, used primarily for flexible packaging and household applications, remained slightly down overall, deliveries of thicker foil between 61 and 200 µm increased by more than 8% in the second quarter. This divergence was particularly pronounced in export markets: a 19.0% decline in thinner foil was offset by growth of 40% in thicker gauges, largely compensating for the weaker export demand for thinner foil.

Developments across end-user markets also point to increasing stability. Technical applications, particularly in the automotive and building sectors, recorded strong growth of almost 7% in the second quarter. Foil volumes for packaging applications remained broadly stable, while demand for household foil continued to decline. This suggests a degree of resilience in consumer-related packaging demand. At the same time, there are signs of easing pressure in product categories such as coffee and chocolate, which have recently been affected by high price levels. However, the sustainability of consumer spending remains uncertain given the economic uncertainties and continuing tensions in the Middle East.

Total aluminium foil deliveries reached around 463,000 tonnes in the first half of 2026, still 3.0% below the same period last year. The second quarter, and the marked improvement in June in particular, therefore helped to noticeably reduce the shortfall accumulated during the opening months of the year.

“Following the difficult start to the year, we are seeing an encouraging stabilisation in the second quarter, with significantly more positive signals emerging towards the end of the period,” says Göksal Güngör, Chair of the EAFA Roller Group. “The development in June gives us grounds for cautious optimism for the second half of the year. However, given the continuing economic and geopolitical uncertainty, we do not expect a sharp recovery, but rather a gradual strengthening of demand.”