Plugging the leaks, Part 1: How aluminum trade groups are closing gaps in Section 232
The first installment explores how trade groups representing extruders and die casters are pressing to expand Section 232’s coverage.
Tag: Extrusions
Tracking construction, Part 2: Building out the indicators
Building on the backlog analysis, this follow-up connects Dodge Construction Network's construction starts data, the Dodge Momentum Index, and the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index to map how project planning, design, and execution are aligning - or diverging - across the construction cycle.
Tracking construction, Part 1: Weighing the construction backlog
This installment examines August's Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Backlog Indicator, breaking down shifts by industry, region, and company size to show where contractors' forward workloads are expanding - and where they're stalling.
Looking for demand in all the wrong places
AMU takes a closer look at obscure but telling markets - corrugated boxes, cement, and coatings - for early clues on where aluminum demand may really be headed in 2025.
AMU Survey: Stability on the surface, fractures beneath
September's survey shows stability, but a closer look reveals diverging conditions: scrap recyclers facing oversupply, semi-fabricators holding ground, and softer price expectations on Midwest premiums and UBCs.
Value-added products update: Initial 2026 premiums offers
As billet upcharges mount, scrap spreads stay wide, and talk of an export ban rattles recyclers, the aluminum industry heads into 2026 facing some of the toughest cost and supply negotiations yet.
AMU Survey: Lead times split by product group
The August AMU survey reveals lead times lengthening for sheet but easing for billet and extrusions, with distributors, producers, manufacturers, and recyclers each reporting conditions shaped by their position in the value chain.
Crosscurrents in non-residential construction Part 2: Dodge data
Parsing out conflicting construction data from the census, Dodge and other sources to see where the market may be headed.
Crosscurrents in non-residential construction Part 1: Spending, billings, backlog
Conflicting reads across census spending, backlog surveys, and Dodge planning data point to a construction market where commercial may be nearing a floor, infrastructure remains buoyed by long pipelines, and heavy industrial lags.
Secondary aluminum casthouses: Time for a rethink?
The widening gap between scrap costs and value-added premiums is making secondary aluminum casthouses look far more attractive - time for a rethink.