When a 127-Year-Old U.S. Industry Collapses Under China's Weight
- Alcoa cutting back on aluminum making is sign of regime change
- Prices for metal tumbled 27 percent in past year on LME
Rolled aluminum at the Alcoa Inc. Davenport Works facility in Riverdale, Iowa.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Alcoa Inc.’s latest aluminum-making cutback is signaling the end of the iconic American industry.
For 127 years, the New York-based company has been churning out the lightweight metal used in everything from beverage cans to airplanes, once making it a symbol of U.S. industrial might. Now, with prices languishing near six-year lows, it’s wiping out almost a third of domestic operating capacity, Harbor Intelligence estimates. If prices don’t recover, the researcher predicts almost all U.S. smelting plants will close by next year.