Aluminium buyers in the United States are paying record prices, as high import tariffs and a global shortage push costs to new levels.
On June 4, President Donald Trump announced a move to double aluminium import tariffs to 50%, aiming to boost domestic production of the metal, which is widely used in construction, packaging, and power infrastructure. Since then, prices in the U.S. physical market have jumped sharply.
The duty-paid Midwest premium, which covers extra costs like transport and taxes, hit a record 88.10 cents per pound (around $1,942 per metric ton) last week. When added to the London Metal Exchange (LME) base price of $2,850 per ton, U.S. buyers are now paying about $4,792 per tonin total.
The higher tariff alone adds around $1,425 per ton to the cost of imported aluminium, nearly three times more than the start of the year. According to Harbor Aluminum, this surge is also linked to falling U.S. stocks and growing expectations that the tariffs will remain in place, especially after Trump ended trade talks with Canada, which supplies 70% of U.S. aluminium imports (about 2.7 million tons last year). “Even the optimists have stepped back,” said Dmitri Ceres from U.S. trader PerenniAL. 
At the same time, the global aluminium market is under strain. China, the world’s top producer, is keeping a 45 million ton production cap, while its exports have been falling. Analyst Tom Price from Panmure Liberum expects a 1.8 million ton shortage this year, as both Chinese exports and non-Chinese production continue to decline.
Together, these factors are creating one of the tightest aluminium markets in years, with American manufacturers struggling to secure supplies and facing some of the highest aluminium costs on record.
Source: indexbox.io with additional information added by Glass Balkan
