Aluminium consumers in the United States are clamoring for an alternative to the current Midwest aluminium premium, reacting to the premium's surge to a near all-time high this year.
American Metal Market's latest assessment of the P1020 premium placed it at 19.75-20.5 cents per lb on Tuesday July 10, down from the more than three-year high of 22-23 cents per lb on April 10 but still more than double the 9.4-9.5-cent-per-lb range recorded at the start of this year. Of all consumers, the beer can industry has been the most vocal about the allegedly unfair nature of the duty-paid aluminium premium.In an op-ed penned for the Wall Street Journal in May, former Molson Coors Brewing Co chairman Pete Coors criticized the current Midwest premium benchmark, an assessment conducted by American Metal Market competitor S&P Global Platts. A group of 32 lawmakers urged US...