Contributor: Nicholas Bell

In a quarter where aluminum prices rallied and shipments nudged upward, Novelis found itself caught between expansion plans and unfortunate timing.

Litho sheet is typically costly and a rare grade of scrap to come by. Unlike other more specific alloys, like 6061 or 5052, it can be consumed by just about anyone or added to just about any melt mix.

Since the aluminum market is subject to Section 232 tariffs of 25%, regardless of source, and which supersedes the 10% tariff, it would bring the effective tariff rate on aluminum products brought into the US from China to 45%.

For domestic automotive manufacturers, first quarter earnings results defined by a familiar theme: suspended guidance and constant references to “tariff uncertainty”.

With earnings season largely behind us it’s time to move past the headline numbers and into the filings – where a few key items across major downstream players deserve closer scrutiny.

The purpose of the tapered tariff reduction is to allow time to readjust supply lines or onshore manufacturing to the U.S., a phaseout that incentivizes shifts in components production.

The company noted improvements in North American scrap margins, but the details demand a closer read.

Sortation technology is often puzzle where the end goal determines the methods employed, making it hard to gauge what companies are capable of going beyond standard processing.

Aluminum producer Norsk Hydro and automotive casting manufacturer Nemak agreement focuses on expanding the use of post-consumer scrap and shifting to lower-carbon energy sources.

As pressures mount across the aluminum value chain, key signals buried in LKQ’s latest earnings both hint and obscure deeper shifts in how auto-related aluminum flows are being sourced, stockpiled, and sold.