Final Thoughts

August 20, 2026
See you in Atlanta!
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
Next week, AMU will kick off its first Aluminum Summit.
It will be the perfect place to discuss what changes to Section 232 are brewing. Or trends in the LME and Midwest premiums and how the war in Iran is factoring in. As well as onshoring, domestic production, recycling, and end markets.
Of course, it’s also a great opportunity to get face time with other professionals in the field.
We have a packed agenda. Highlights include:
- Hedging 101 with StoneX Financial Inc.
- Keynote by Lawrence D. Burns, co-author of Autonomy: The Quest to Build The Driverless Car — And How It Will Reshape Our World, will speak about maturing and emerging technology and its impact on the aluminum and steel industries.
- Fireside chat with Barry Schneider, president and COO of Steel Dynamics Inc., featuring discussions on the company’s growing aluminum operations, Aluminum Dynamics Inc.
- A dynamic keynote panel discussion on trade, tariffs and geopolitics with Joe Quinn of Securing America’s Future Energy, Chuck Johnson of the Aluminum Association, and Jean Simard of the Aluminum Association of Canada.
- Impact of data centers and grid buildout on aluminum by John Mucci of Kibar Americas.
- A fireside chat on trade and tariffs with Alan Price of Wiley Rein LLP.
- Planning successful succession for your business with Benjamin Persofsky of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
- A panel on trends for aluminum prices and Midwest Premiums with Zaid Aljanabi of CRU Group and Timna Tanners of Wells Fargo.
And that’s just a sample of what we have in store.
Taking place Aug. 24–26 in Atlanta, the event will run alongside the SMU Steel Summit, hosted by our ferrous sister publication, Steel Market Update.
Remember, one ticket gives you access to both conferences. That’s two events for the price of one!
If you haven’t already, you can download our app to help streamline your experience.
And if you see one of AMU’s reporters around, please say hello. We would love to meet you.
We’ll see you in Atlanta!


