Category: Recycled Metals

As aluminum markets head into 2026, LME prices appear structurally supported while the Midwest premium looks increasingly risky and politically distorted, forcing buyers and sellers to hedge very differently.

AKFA Aluminum Solutions will establish its first US manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, introducing a new extrusion-focused aluminum producers into the regional secondary market.

Despite competing fiercely for market share, aluminum and plastics share the same structural recycling failures rooted in incentives and policy resistance.

Workers at Real Alloy's Kentucky facility unanimously ratified their first collective bargaining agreement following a strike authorization vote, concluding months of negotiations.

Industry respondents overwhelmingly expect UBC prices to remain stable in the current month, even as Class scrap and Midwest premium expectations point in different directions.

Scrap discounts remain exceptionally wide to the Midwest transaction price. Some seasonal tightness may occur, but still affords rolling mills and extruders excellent earnings potential.

AMU spoke with Ingrid Joerg about her experience and her vision for Constellium, the Paris-based aluminum company with operations in Europe, North America and Asia.

Sortera uses proprietary technology equipped with AI-enabled multi-sensor sorting systems with blending capabilities to better sort and upcycle scrap

Aluminum Market Chatter from survey respondents.

The EU's preparatory work on possible aluminum scrap export restrictions provides the starting point for examining why current European scrap flows to the US remain too small to materially affect either region's can sheet market.