After flying into a rain-soaked London seeking answers to questions on key issues in the aluminum space, we left the city with uncertainty remaining. As always, the speakers at LME Week 2026, which ran from Oct. 19-23, did a solid job evaluating the fundamentals for each of the metals they were covering. But most shied away from providing specific price forecasts. Who could blame them given the imponderables below?
Earlier this month, retired General David Petraeus, whose resume is as impressive as any I’ve seen, held a fireside chat at the National Press Club with Century Aluminum CEO Jesse Gary and Mark Duffy, the president and CEO of the American Primary Aluminum Association. During that widely reported chat, retired Gen. Petraeus stated that the US was not militarily ready for a conflict. Because the event concentrated on aluminum, and primary aluminum at that, his remarks hit harder than I think the full facts warrant.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) narrowed operating losses from its aluminum operations as the company's flat-rolled mill in Columbus, Miss., continues to ramp up. SDI, which operates Aluminum Dynamics Inc. (ADI), reported a Q3'26 operating loss from aluminum operations of $26 million, down from an operating loss of $56.5 million in Q3'25. Year to date, the division reported an operating loss of $124 million, down from $126 million in the first nine months of 2025.
Alro Steel has opened a new, 245,000-square foot facility in Oviedo, Fla., a suburb of Orlando, Fla. The Jackson, Mich.-based service center said the new location would allow it to better serve the Orlando market. The company said the new facility will allow its original location in Orlando, established in 1982, to focus on plate processing. The Oviedo location “significantly increases Alro’s local inventory and processing capacity, providing customers with greater product availability, expanded processing options, and faster shipments,” Alro said in a press release posted earlier this week.
Base metals had a mixed week. Tin lost almost 4% on the week, finishing at $53,000/ton. Prices dropped to a low of $51,259/ton at one point. Aluminum was another loser, off by about 1.6% on the week. Investors are expecting more aluminum supply going forward, especially out of China and Indonesia. Copper prices tacked on 1.1%. They have now recovered more than half of the $700/ton loss sustained (over the course of a week) following reports/rumors in mid-September that US tariffs on refined copper imports might not proceed after all.
In 2015, finished steel imports were 29% of apparent domestic consumption of steel, as estimated by AISI. In 2025, the import share had fallen to 18%. Steel lobbyists think that is progress, but the reality is more complex.
Recycler forward expectations swung toward oversupply in September as inventory drawdowns eased and export demand lost August’s improving responses.
Kibar Americas said production has started at its aluminum plant in Fairmont, W.Va., where it will manufacture products for the HVAC, packaging, automotive and industrial sectors.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has guided to higher third-quarter earnings both sequentially and on-year.
China is bumping up against its official primary production capacity limit of 45.3 million metric tons/year, but production can still increase through “capacity creep.”
The retaliatory measures—which include 50% tariffs on US steel and aluminum—came after trade talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed last month.
Automotive aluminum demand is rising as extrusions, sheet, and castings gain ground across vehicle applications and powertrains.
Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed late on Friday, just hours after media reports that an accord was near.
Recycler demand increased while fewer respondents reported sufficient obsolete scrap, even as inventory drawdowns remained widespread.
On July 9, Aluminum Market Update published “Did aluminum markets price in peace too soon?” The article used data and events through July 8 to test whether falling prices and light financial participation had moved ahead of conditions around the Strait of Hormuz. A month later, LME aluminum positioning offers a useful checkpoint on how that trade played out.
The announcements affect two established US commercial vehicle production sites.
Mid-earnings review finds rolled product outperforming extrusions, while trade shifts and billet supply cloud demand signals.
AMU’s July survey found recyclers expecting lower prices as demand softened, while forward scrap supply views remained mixed.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said any restart of the blast furnace at its Dearborn Works in Michigan hinges on automakers reshoring more production to the US.
Steel Dynamics Inc. posted sharply higher profits on record quarterly shipments and predicted the good times might continue to roll into 2027.
Aluminum Dynamics plans to invest more than $200 million to develop a recycled slab center in Lowndes County, Miss., establishing the permanent location for a project relocated from Arizona earlier this year.
Aluminum prices have spent the past month pricing in a calmer Middle East, while developments in the Strait of Hormuz have suggested anything but.
Toyota Motor North America plans to invest $3.6 billion to expand its San Antonio manufacturing campus.
The recent retreat in aluminum prices has been a “head scratcher” as the Iran war continues to disrupt output from an important production region.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) cash aluminum settlement price fell 12% between June 2 and June 18 after reaching its highest level in more than four years, while the US Midwest Premium moved lower from record highs established in late May.
We are in full ramp-up mode here at Steel Market Update as we put the final touches on North America’s largest flat‑rolled steel industry gathering of the year.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) said it expects to record a $16 million asset write-down in the second quarter after deciding to relocate a planned Aluminum Dynamics (ADI) recycled aluminum slab casting center from Benson, Ariz., to Columbus, Miss.
It’s what we call: One ticket. Two conferences. One journey to gather steel and aluminum insight.
Prime Minister Mark Carney asserted the Canadian and US governments should cooperate more closely on auto manufacturing, steel, critical minerals and aluminum.
The forced-labor and Brazil 301 actions are aimed more at finished goods supply chains, not raw metals.