China sees trade surplus as more partners shift from US
China's expanding trade surplus reflects a strategic rotation away from US markets and toward higher-value exports, even as domestic demand remains under pressure.
Category: Global Trade
Edward Meir: Aluminum outlook for 2026
Trade deals, substitution, and the Midwest premium in the year ahead
Trump administration takes stake in Atalco to boost alumina, gallium production
Atalco is getting a $450 million infusion to expand production in Louisiana
Aerospace end market check-in: 2025 aircraft deliveries
A review of 2025 Airbus and Boeing aircraft deliveries, with context around production and supply-chain structure.
Labor agreement timelines converge in US aluminum
Labor agreements across US aluminum producers are converging around 2026, bringing collective bargaining timelines into sharper focus this year.
The question of aluminum and substitution
Decisions to swap materials are not made in the spur of the moment. Significant engineering changes have to be made, tooling has to be redesigned. With current lead times for heavy industrial equipment, substitution could take 1-2 years to execute. Substitution, whether good or bad for aluminum, is not happening quickly.
AB InBev repurchases minority stake in US metal can operations
Anheuser-Busch InBev has repurchased a minority stake in its US metal can manufacturing operations, reversing a $3 billion transaction completed in 2020.
Novelis says Oswego repairs to cost $255 million, restart TBD
The most recent blaze in November damaged the hot mill's finishing mill, which is highly specialized.
Midwest premiums: Falling Canadian imports are telling
The US has seen a drastic decline in imports from Canada.
Manufacturing expansions, Airbus developments, low recycling rates, and more
There’s a lot of news to keep track of, so we’re lending a hand with highlights from the past month and what they mean for you.