Aluminum Dynamics ships first coil from Mississippi mill

The company expects to end the year with a utilization rate at its Columbus plant between 40% and 50%, and exit 2026 at 75%. The rolling mill represents a $2.7 billion investment and is expected to produce 650,000 metric tons (t) of flat-rolled products per year, and another 150,000t at its satellite recycled slab centers in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and Benson, Arizona.

The coils contain a high recycled content geared toward the beverage industry (45% product mix), as well as the automotive (35%) and industrial sectors (20%), the Fort Wayne, Indiana-based metals producer said.

Three of the four melt-cast units are fully commissioned at Columbus and are producing all 3000, 5000 and 6000 series ingots for industrial, can sheet and automotive sectors. The hot mill and cold mill are in start-up mode, remain on schedule, and have successfully produced 3000 series industrial coils.

The aluminum market has changed significantly since 2022, when SDI announced it had selected the site in Mississippi for its mill, particularly with high import taxes and trade uncertainty now coming into play.

However, Millet said the environment has become “even more positive.”

“The supply deficit is definitely there. That will continue to grow. And it’s being supplied, obviously, by imports with a huge tariff attached to it,” Millet said. “So us bringing volume on in that environment is very, very positive for us and for the customer base as well. So I don’t think we see any issues there.

Wagler added: “When we modeled and projected the $650 million to $700 million of through-cycle EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) associated with our aluminum investments, the spreads that we actually used from a product set are more conservative than what we’re seeing in the market environment today. So there is a lot of upside opportunity.”

Domestic deficit

Millet described SDI’s initial aluminum production as “parallel our entry into the then antiquated steel industry over 30 years ago, and there are distinct similarities – an industry with generally older, inefficient assets at a considerable cost disadvantage and companies challenged to earn their cost of capital, thereby unable to reinvest in facilities and new technology due to the lack of funds.”

“Unlike our entry into the oversupplied steel market, there is a significant domestic supply deficit of over 1.4 million tons for aluminum sheet, and this deficit is forecasted to grow,” Millet added. “In 2024, that deficit was supplied through high-cost imports, which are now even higher cost as the tariffs increased from 10% in 2024 to the current 50% level.”

Doing the numbers

ADI widened the loss on its operations to $40.6 million in Q2’25, compared to a loss of $13.8 million in the same period a year ago.

During the first half of the year, operating losses from aluminum operations totaled $69 million. For the third quarter, SDI estimates comparable losses to be in the range of $40 million, and then narrowing to between $15 million and $20 million for the fourth quarter as it completes commissioning, begins product certification and ramps production.