Shares of aluminum giant Alcoa are rallying in after-hours trading thanks to a better-than-expected earnings announcement.
Aluminum is one of the most important industrial metals in the world, which makes Alcoa a decent bellwether of economic activity.
The good news for us is that global demand still looks good. Management expects demand to be up 7% in 2014.
Despite some deceleration in its local economy, China continues to be the biggest consumer of aluminum with demand growing 10%.
The global aerospace, automotive, and commercial building industries are all expected to see growth.
Alcoa breaks it all down in these two slides from its earnings presentation.
