Join AMU on Jan. 22 for a Community Chat with Greg Wittbecker and Edward Meir

We’ve got a couple of weeks of 2026 under our belt. What does the rest of the year have in store?

Join aluminum experts and Aluminum Market Update (AMU) contributors Greg Wittbecker and Edward Meir for an AMU Community Chat on Thurs., Jan. 22, at 11 am ET, to find out.

The live webinar will be free for anyone to attend. Recordings will be available only to AMU and SMU members. You can register here.

Among the issues we’ll discuss are President Trump’s tariffs and their impact on nonferrous prices in the US:

• The Midwest Premium continues to reach levels that would have been unbelievable a year ago. Has it gotten to a point where demand destruction is a real concern? For example, could we see steel replacing aluminum in future vehicle models?

• High prices are hardly limited to aluminum. Copper prices have surged as well following President Trump’s 50% Section 232 tariffs. Could we see aluminum replace copper in HVAC and other applications typically dominated by the red metal?

We’ll also widen the scope to broader global issues and consider questions such as the following:

• Indonesia’s industrial base continues to grow rapidly. How will that torrid growth impact broader commodity markets?

• The potential of Venezuela’s oil sector has garnered headlines following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. What about the potential of Venezuela’s once-significant aluminum industry?

• Finally, we’ll talk about scrap. What happens if the EU’s aluminum scrap ban goes into effect? What impact could such a move have on markets abroad?

And, of course, we’ll take your questions too – so don’t forget to bring some good ones to the Q&A on Thurs., Jan. 22, at 11 am ET.

Michael Cowden

Editor-in-Chief of CRU’s Communities, including Steel Market Update and Aluminum Market Update, Michael has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported extensively on steel long products, pipe and tube, and aluminum markets. Before joining SMU, he worked as a reporter for Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and The Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. Michael also held roles in copy editing and marketing at the University of Chicago Press. He holds a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.