Category: Supply Chain Dynamics

A lawsuit in filed against the City of Benson, Arizona could delay Aluminum Dynamics' flagship secondary smelter.

Rising Midwest and European premiums are giving Canadian aluminum producers a rare boost, restoring pricing power just ahead of key 2026 negotiations.

July's producer price index (PPI) and manufacturing survey (M3) data show an aluminum sector that looks steady on paper but is shrinking once inflation is stripped away, with costs cascading unevenly through the supply chain.

Recent IEA data underscores an erratic electricity supply mix alongside sharply rising demand, with future prices signaling poor economics for operating an aluminum smelter and pointing instead to behind-the-meter generation backed by outside financing.

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.

The August AMU survey reveals lead times lengthening for sheet but easing for billet and extrusions, with distributors, producers, manufacturers, and recyclers each reporting conditions shaped by their position in the value chain.

Volatile LME spreads may not directly dictate physical aluminum prices, but with tight inventories, rising Midwest premiums, and traders creating "artificial contangoes", financing costs are increasingly being pushed into the physical market.

The widening gap between scrap costs and value-added premiums is making secondary aluminum casthouses look far more attractive - time for a rethink.

U.S. aluminum buyers and sellers are bracing for a bruising 2026 contract season as tariffs, tight supply, and shifting scrap economics threaten to push Midwest premiums and upcharges to unprecedented levels.

Private equity-backed moves by Fulton Asset Management and KPS Capital Partners highlight how consolidation is reshaping North American extrusion capacity, with strategies aimed squarely at construction and industrial end markets.