Construction end market check-in: 2025 Backlog and momentum indicators
Non-residential construction indicators show how planning and backlog shaped aluminum demand heading into 2026.
Category: Pulse
EU targets small packaging in new recycling partnership
The move comes as pressure is increasing to keep scrap at home but US tariff exemptions have made exports more appealing.
Join AMU Thursday for a Community Chat with Greg Wittbecker and Edward Meir
The soaring Midwest premium, scrap bans, tariffs and geopolitical issues—we have plenty to talk about in 2026.
LME high grade aluminum: How high is high in a post-China cost curve?
Rising global capital and power costs, driven by China's production cap and higher-cost expansion in Indonesia, are structurally resetting aluminum's incentive price, making higher LME levels necessary to unlock new primary capacity outside China.
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.
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.
Join AMU on Jan. 22 for a Community Chat with Greg Wittbecker and Edward Meir
Join aluminum experts and Aluminum Market Update (AMU) contributors Greg Wittbecker and Edward Meir for an AMU Community Chat on on Thurs., Jan. 22, at 11 am ET to find out.