ADI confident automakers will stick with aluminum despite disruptions

Cliffs said it is leaning hard into the auto sector, as AMU’s sister publication SMU reported. A fire at Novelis’ Oswego aluminum mill in New York state last month reinforced that decision, as it disrupted the domestic aluminum supply.

However, SDI, which runs Aluminum Dynamics Inc., doesn’t see automakers abandoning aluminum.

Asked about his view that customers might switch from aluminum to steel because of availability, Millet said, “If you’re an aluminum consumer and you’ve seen the sort of supply chain risk that they’ve just gone through, you’ve got to ask that question.”

“As we got into the aluminum space and were doing our due diligence for the ADI project, automotive makers would have actually consumed more aluminum over recent years if there was more supply,” Millett said.

“So, are they questioning aluminum? I don’t think so,” Millett said. “Aluminum is an incredibly important material for their future plans. Coming into the marketplace will allow them optionality and greater redundancies through the supply chain. I think that issue or that question will be mitigated going forward.”

This summer, ADI shipped its first aluminum coils from its $2.5 billion, 650,000-metric ton rolling mill in Columbus, Mississippi. SDI executives said the mill would finish 2026 at a 75% utilization rate.

Meanwhile, Novelis’ mill in Oswego is expected to restart by late November or early December, Ford executives said on an earnings call.

“That is in line with our communication with Novelis. The hot mill, which is down now, will be operational in late November/early December. It’ll then go through a quick ramp-up through December,” said Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer.