Cliffs leans hard into auto after aluminum supply chain shock

The company shipped a total of 4.0 million short tons of steel in Q3’25. Automotive made up about 30% of the mix, up from 26% previously, according to the Q3’25 earnings report. This pushed average selling prices $17/ton higher sequentially to $1,032/ton.

Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president, and CEO, tied that momentum to recent multi-year, fixed-price contracts with major OEMs. He said some agreements began in October while most volume effects will show in 2026.

The CEO said Cliffs is benefiting as automakers are being “compelled” to produce vehicles in North America, pointing to Stellantis’ recent $13 billion investment announcement. “They are coming to their senses and coming back to the reality that North America is their main market, and Cliffs is their main supplier,” Goncalves commented.

Steel could benefit from shakeup in aluminum supply chain

A major fire at Novelis’ Oswego aluminum mill in the state of New York last month reinforced Cliffs’ case that automakers need a resilient domestic steel supply.

The fire exposed the fragility of the aluminum supply chain, said Goncalves, reminding OEMs why steel “is irreplaceable” when it comes to the lightweighting trend in automotive.

Recent trials converting aluminum tooling to Cliffs’ steel are showing “very promising results.” The company even expects some models to shift back toward steel.

“This is a huge win for America-made steel,” Goncalves said on the call. “We fully expect aluminum participation in the automotive space will continue to shrink.”

Cliffs says it has nine galvanizing plants ready to scale and highlighted idle capacity it can pull forward. It noted specific expansion potential at Columbus, Ohio, where existing lines could roughly double throughput without major new builds. It also pointed to other modern, ready assets such as Dearborn, Michigan; Middletown, Ohio; and Rockport, Indiana.