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Released March 27, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The aluminum sector, from initial smelting to final rolling, is bringing more than US$15 billion worth of projects to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. As tariffs loom on aluminum imported into the U.S., the demand for U.S.-manufactured aluminum is expected to increase, which is good news for companies building recycling plants and rolling mills in the country. Other companies, such as Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) are at work on expanding Canadian smelting operations, and one major U.S. metals company is establishing an important aluminum-recycling facility in Mexico.
Easily the largest active aluminum project in North America, Novelis Incorporated's (Atlanta, Georgia) integrated aluminum rolling mill in Bay Minette, Alabama, is being constructed about 35 miles from Mobile. The facility will cater to the beverage-can market, with the flexibility to shift into the automotive sector, and will be able to produce 1.3 billion pounds per year of finished aluminum goods at full production. An accompanying recycling center will increase Novelis' recycling capacity by 16 billion cans per year, raising it to 90 billion cans per year globally. Engineering, procurement and construction contractor Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) (Irving, Texas) is expected to wrap up construction on the Alabama plant in mid-2026. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.
Steel company Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (Fort Wayne, Indiana) has moved into the aluminum sector with its Aluminum Dynamics spinoff. The company is wrapping up construction of a flat-rolled aluminum mill in Columbus, Mississippi, where Steel Dynamics has operated a steel mill since 2014. When operating at full capacity, the new rolling mill will process an estimated 900,000 metric tons per year of aluminum slab, producing 650,000 tons of finished products annually to serve the beverage can (45%), automotive (35%) and common alloy (20%) sectors. Aluminum is particularly important in the electric vehicle sector, where the metal's lighter weight can allow vehicles to travel further on a single charge. The mill is expected to begin operating this summer. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
According to a Steel Dynamics investor presentation, the company is aiming for 80% recycled content in can sheet products and a high level of recycled content for other products at the Columbus mill. This is leading to projects further upstream in the aluminum processing procedure. The mill will recycle about 50% of the aluminum it uses as feed, and two additional recycling centers will further support the facility. One of these is under construction in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, while another will be built in Arizona. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
All of the virgin aluminum slab used as feedstock in rolling operations originates in aluminum smelters, many of which are located in Canada, where energy efficiencies make them less expensive to operate. The U.S. International Trade Administration reports that 58% of aluminum imports into the U.S. came from Canada in 2024. Leading aluminum producer Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) has a great deal of smelting capacity in Canada, and executives there have expressed concerns that higher U.S. tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada could lead to a reduction in the U.S. workforce that processes the Canadian aluminum. "While we're very supportive of their efforts to improve the industry as well as strengthen U.S. manufacturing jobs, we do see that there could be some harm from the tariffs," Alcoa Chief Financial Officer Molly Beerman said at an industry conference earlier this month. "We're particularly focused on gaining a Canadian exemption."
One company that may also be vouching for a tariff exemption on Canadian aluminum imports is global metals giant Rio Tinto, which has a smelter in Jonquiere, Quebec, that is in the midst of an expansion project. Toward the start of last year, Rio Tinto launched the addition of 96 new AP60 pots, which incorporate technology developed by the company to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase productivity. The addition of the 96 pots significantly expands the smelter's equipment to 134 pots, lifting capacity by approximately 160,000 metric tons per year to 220,000 tons per year. The project has been underway for more than a year and is expected to have about a year left before completion, meaning Rio Tinto is halfway through the expected construction timeline, leading one to wonder if the U.S. tariffs will be in place when the increased production begins. Subscribers can click here for more details of the project.
In addition to adding the AP60 pots, Rio Tinto also is refurbishing two anode baking furnaces at the smelter, a process that occurs every 20-25 years and is expected to be completed this summer. (See project report.)
While the U.S. rolling mills and the Canadian smelter expansion all have total investment values of well over US$1 billion, several smaller aluminum projects dot the North American landscape. Hydro Aluminum Metals USA LLC's (Henderson, Kentucky) Hydro CIRCAL line of aluminum products uses a minimum of 75% recycled aluminum, with its R100 line using 100% recycled material, although this is only available in small batches. The R-75 line uses a minimum of 75% of recycled feed. Hydro Aluminum is a leading supplier of extrusion ingots, sheet ingots, foundry alloys and wire rods.
The company's mill in Henderson, Kentucky, is kicking off an expansion project, adding 80,000 square feet for a new cast house along with equipment to produce 2,000 to 4,000 tons per year of Hydro CIRCAL products. The smelter has an existing capacity of 90,000 tons per year. The project is expected to be completed in about a year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Easily the largest active aluminum project in North America, Novelis Incorporated's (Atlanta, Georgia) integrated aluminum rolling mill in Bay Minette, Alabama, is being constructed about 35 miles from Mobile. The facility will cater to the beverage-can market, with the flexibility to shift into the automotive sector, and will be able to produce 1.3 billion pounds per year of finished aluminum goods at full production. An accompanying recycling center will increase Novelis' recycling capacity by 16 billion cans per year, raising it to 90 billion cans per year globally. Engineering, procurement and construction contractor Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) (Irving, Texas) is expected to wrap up construction on the Alabama plant in mid-2026. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.
Steel company Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (Fort Wayne, Indiana) has moved into the aluminum sector with its Aluminum Dynamics spinoff. The company is wrapping up construction of a flat-rolled aluminum mill in Columbus, Mississippi, where Steel Dynamics has operated a steel mill since 2014. When operating at full capacity, the new rolling mill will process an estimated 900,000 metric tons per year of aluminum slab, producing 650,000 tons of finished products annually to serve the beverage can (45%), automotive (35%) and common alloy (20%) sectors. Aluminum is particularly important in the electric vehicle sector, where the metal's lighter weight can allow vehicles to travel further on a single charge. The mill is expected to begin operating this summer. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
According to a Steel Dynamics investor presentation, the company is aiming for 80% recycled content in can sheet products and a high level of recycled content for other products at the Columbus mill. This is leading to projects further upstream in the aluminum processing procedure. The mill will recycle about 50% of the aluminum it uses as feed, and two additional recycling centers will further support the facility. One of these is under construction in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, while another will be built in Arizona. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
All of the virgin aluminum slab used as feedstock in rolling operations originates in aluminum smelters, many of which are located in Canada, where energy efficiencies make them less expensive to operate. The U.S. International Trade Administration reports that 58% of aluminum imports into the U.S. came from Canada in 2024. Leading aluminum producer Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) has a great deal of smelting capacity in Canada, and executives there have expressed concerns that higher U.S. tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada could lead to a reduction in the U.S. workforce that processes the Canadian aluminum. "While we're very supportive of their efforts to improve the industry as well as strengthen U.S. manufacturing jobs, we do see that there could be some harm from the tariffs," Alcoa Chief Financial Officer Molly Beerman said at an industry conference earlier this month. "We're particularly focused on gaining a Canadian exemption."
One company that may also be vouching for a tariff exemption on Canadian aluminum imports is global metals giant Rio Tinto, which has a smelter in Jonquiere, Quebec, that is in the midst of an expansion project. Toward the start of last year, Rio Tinto launched the addition of 96 new AP60 pots, which incorporate technology developed by the company to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase productivity. The addition of the 96 pots significantly expands the smelter's equipment to 134 pots, lifting capacity by approximately 160,000 metric tons per year to 220,000 tons per year. The project has been underway for more than a year and is expected to have about a year left before completion, meaning Rio Tinto is halfway through the expected construction timeline, leading one to wonder if the U.S. tariffs will be in place when the increased production begins. Subscribers can click here for more details of the project.
In addition to adding the AP60 pots, Rio Tinto also is refurbishing two anode baking furnaces at the smelter, a process that occurs every 20-25 years and is expected to be completed this summer. (See project report.)
While the U.S. rolling mills and the Canadian smelter expansion all have total investment values of well over US$1 billion, several smaller aluminum projects dot the North American landscape. Hydro Aluminum Metals USA LLC's (Henderson, Kentucky) Hydro CIRCAL line of aluminum products uses a minimum of 75% recycled aluminum, with its R100 line using 100% recycled material, although this is only available in small batches. The R-75 line uses a minimum of 75% of recycled feed. Hydro Aluminum is a leading supplier of extrusion ingots, sheet ingots, foundry alloys and wire rods.
The company's mill in Henderson, Kentucky, is kicking off an expansion project, adding 80,000 square feet for a new cast house along with equipment to produce 2,000 to 4,000 tons per year of Hydro CIRCAL products. The smelter has an existing capacity of 90,000 tons per year. The project is expected to be completed in about a year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
