Aluminum earnings point to risk, not disruption
First-quarter earnings show aluminum markets identifying supply risk across value-added products, but not yet experiencing measurable disruption.
First-quarter earnings show aluminum markets identifying supply risk across value-added products, but not yet experiencing measurable disruption.
Measured lead times moved in different directions in April, with sheet easing, extrusion firming, and primary tightening.
Keep informed on what your peers in the industry are saying about lead times, imports, logistics, prices and more.
The survey provides you with a snapshot of the market as it is, even if that’s not always where it was forecast to be.
Survey responses show demand at a reduced level, with buying ahead, tightening supply, and limited imports shaping market activity.
Extruders flagged mounting Gulf supply risks, tight US inventories, and a shift toward scrap-driven billet economics.
Lead-time expectations remained extended as supply stayed tight, even as import competitiveness decline and logistics costs increased.
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Midwest aluminum premiums are converging with replacement costs as Gulf supply risks lift duty-paid import replacement near $1.05 per pound.