NEW YORK: A major aluminium buyer is on the hunt for about 90 million pounds of the metal, an unusual move that threatens to further tighten a market fractured by President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.
Arconic Corp is looking to buy aluminium in the spot market for the second quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.
That’s a shift for the company, which in the past had made a majority of its raw material purchases through annual contracts, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private commercial matters.
The amount Arconic is seeking to buy is equivalent to about 10% of US monthly aluminium consumption, potentially adding pressure to an already constrained market.
Arconic takes raw aluminium and turns it into sheets, plates and other products for the auto, aerospace, transportation and construction sectors.
Arconic didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment by phone and email.
The atypical move to purchase such a large volume on the spot market signals that Arconic is seeking a discount to the premium on US aluminium imports.
Trump’s 50% levy on the metal is pushing Arconic, which was part of once-iconic American industrial giant Alcoa Inc and powered the nation’s strength in building everything from fighter planes to dishwashers, to take steps to hedge against surging costs that are eating into profits and raising prices.
Apollo Global Management Inc bought Pittsburgh-based Arconic in 2023.
Trump’s import duties and uncertainty over the future of his tariffs have disrupted foreign aluminium shipments into the United States.
At the same time, the levies, which Trump doubled to 50% in June, have made the metal more expensive in the domestic market. — Bloomberg
