Aluminum Production NAICS 3313

Jul 8, 2026 - AA Calls for Export Controls on Scrap

• A new white paper from the Aluminum Association (AA) argues that aluminum scrap is a strategic resource and calls for export controls to strengthen US manufacturing and national security. The report supports growing congressional efforts to keep more aluminum scrap at home, giving domestic producers a larger and more reliable supply of recycled raw material. At a recent House Energy & Commerce hearing, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) said retaining more aluminum scrap would reduce reliance on imported materials, strengthen domestic supply chains, and create manufacturing jobs. Separately, S&P Global highlighted aluminum recycling's growing importance as geopolitical tensions tighten global aluminum supplies. Together, these developments signal increasing support for policies that expand domestic recycling, improve supply chain resilience, and help US aluminum producers secure the recycled feedstock needed to remain competitive while reducing exposure to global supply disruptions.
• Energy-hungry data centers represent a threat to aluminum smelters, the CFO of Alcoa warns, as reported in Aluminum International Today. The aluminum giant’s warning highlights a growing structural challenge for aluminum producers: intensifying competition with data centers for affordable electricity. Because smelting is one of the most energy‑intensive industrial processes, producers rely on long‑term access to low‑cost power, typically $30–$40 per megawatt hour. But data centers are willing to pay more than $100 per MWh, pushing power markets toward higher prices and making it harder for smelters to secure viable contracts. Alcoa notes this dynamic has already contributed to the closure of its West Coast smelters and poses a major barrier to building new US capacity. Overall, the rise of data centers threatens long‑term domestic smelting competitiveness and could limit future domestic aluminum production growth.

• Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an innovative aluminum alloy, called RidgeAlloy, that transforms low-value aluminum scrap into a high-value domestic supply chain for manufacturing new structural auto parts, QualityDigest reports. Amid tight global supplies of the metal, a wave of aluminum auto body scrap is set to enter salvage systems over the next decade. But it’s too impure to be safely reused in new, critical automotive parts, limiting its value. RidgeAlloy opens a pathway to high-value recycled material use, potentially reducing reliance on imported primary aluminum and lowering production energy needs by up to 95%. Aluminum producers that adopt or support this type of recycled alloy technology can boost domestic supply-chain resilience and capture rising demand for lightweight vehicles and EVs, boosting plant utilization and margins, while producers that rely solely on primary aluminum may face pressure as recycled alternatives become viable.
• Producer prices for alumina and aluminum producers and processors continued their steep climb in May, soaring 48.7% compared to a year ago after rising 8.1% in the previous May-versus-May annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Tariffs, elevated production costs, and a constrained global supply have propelled producer prices to record highs this year. Meanwhile, employment by alumina, aluminum, and other nonferrous metal producers was flat year over year in April, while the average industry wage for workers employed by primary metals manufacturers rose 2.5% in May to $30.18 per hour, easing from its record high in April, BLS data show.