AMU Survey: January lead times stable, but still uneven across products
January's AMU survey shows stabilizing lead times with growing product-level and role-based divergence, alongside a notable shift in perceptions of import competitiveness.
January's AMU survey shows stabilizing lead times with growing product-level and role-based divergence, alongside a notable shift in perceptions of import competitiveness.
Let’s unpack the facts behind this move.
China's expanding trade surplus reflects a strategic rotation away from US markets and toward higher-value exports, even as domestic demand remains under pressure.
The US has seen a drastic decline in imports from Canada.
The Midwest premium has risen beyond replacement economics, driven by thin liquidity, depleted US inventories, slow import response, and limited near-term substitutes - raising questions about sustainability and forward risk.
Mexico’s Congress authorized up to 50% tariffs on goods from countries with which it does not have a bilateral trading agreement. This is gives Mexico some cover over concerns it bowed to US pressure to block just Chinese goods flowing through Mexico to the US.
The organization is urging the US government to use the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to stop unfairly subsidized Chinese aluminum from entering the market.
Industry respondents overwhelmingly expect UBC prices to remain stable in the current month, even as Class scrap and Midwest premium expectations point in different directions.
The outcome of the investigation by the DOC and ITC would shape the competitive landscape and the structure of the US trailer supply chain for years to come.
The EU's preparatory work on possible aluminum scrap export restrictions provides the starting point for examining why current European scrap flows to the US remain too small to materially affect either region's can sheet market.