Aluminum Commands Record Premium in U.S. Amid Economic Recovery
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The premium buyers pay to have aluminum shipped to the U.S. Midwest touched a record high, surpassing the level reached six years ago when banks and trading houses famously joined in “merry-go-round deals” at warehouses to collect higher rents.
The latest surge is different. Driven by a jump in demand and shipping costs and a tariff holdover from the Trump administration, the price to deliver the lightweight metal touched a high of 25.6 cents per pound, surpassing the 24.5 cents a pound it hit in February 2015, according to researcher Harbor Intelligence.