Alcoa last night reported a lower quarterly net profit, with falling aluminium and alumna prices pressuring revenue.
The company's plant operations have also been scaled back ahead of a spinoff of its traditional smelting business later this year.
Alcoa reiterated its forecast for global automotive production growth in 2016 of 1-4%, but said continued weakness in the North American market would offset anticipated growth in heavy-duty truck, trailer and bus production in China.
"We have become more flexible and we are continuing to perform well in a low pricing environment," Alcoa's chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld said.
"Once the pricing environment comes back, and it's hard to determine when, you'll see our performance going up," he added.
The New York-based company said second-quarter net income fell to $135m or 9 cents per share from $140m or 10 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts had on average expected earnings per share of 9 cents.
The company said that excluding one-time items, it reported earnings per share of 15 cents.
In the second half of this year, Alcoa is due to split in two, spinning off smelting operations under the Alcoa name. Its value-added business, focused predominantly on the aerospace and automotive industries, will operate under the name Arconic.
The company, which sells titanium and aluminium parts to the aircraft industry, said it expects full-year 2016 global large commercial aircraft deliveries will be flat to up 3%, followed by strong double-digit growth in 2017.
Alcoa faces a challenging market as aluminium prices have hovered around historic lows. Many producers have accused China of selling metal below market rates into oversupplied global markets. China has denied this, saying excess capacity is a global issue.
As part of its restructuring plans, Alcoa has divested itself of 40% of its smelting capacity.
The company said it expects a global alumna deficit for 2016 of 1.5 million metric tons.
It reported revenue for the quarter of $5.3 billion, down 9% from $5.9 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue for the quarter of $5.2 billion.
