April survey says things are steady, but the market’s telling a different story

We just wrapped up the April edition of the AMU survey, and the message coming from across the aluminum value chain was that things are holding steady. Demand is stable, freight is easing, and UBC pricing seems to be coasting. On the surface, it doesn’t sound too bad. But once you lay those responses next to what’s being said out in the field, there’s missed earnings, supply pressure building, container disruptions, and fresh tariffs hitting. What you get is a market that’s not crashing, but certainly not coasting comfortably either.