On the Dash:
- Novelis restarted its Oswego, N.Y., hot mill Wednesday after a nine-month shutdown.
- Two fires in fall 2025 cost Ford an estimated $2 billion in supply disruptions.
- The plant is expected to run below full capacity in the coming weeks.
The Novelis hot mill in Oswego, N.Y., is back online, the company announced Wednesday, marking the end of a nine-month shutdown that ranks among the most disruptive supply chain events the auto industry has seen in recent years.
The restart brings relief to automakers and dealers who weathered months of aluminum shortages. Those shortages cut F-150 inventory nearly 24% and cost Ford an estimated $2 billion to source alternative aluminum from overseas suppliers.
“Restarting the Oswego hot mill is an important step forward for our operations and, most importantly, for our customers,” said Steve Fisher, President and CEO of Novelis Inc., in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the flexibility and partnership our customers have shown, as well as the extraordinary efforts of our employees, suppliers and industry peers who came together to support continuity of supply.”
Novelis says the Oswego plant is the largest domestic supplier of aluminum sheet for the U.S. auto industry, serving about a dozen companies, including Ford, GM, and Stellantis brands Jeep and Ram, as well as foreign automakers with U.S. production facilities.
Previously, two fires triggered the plant’s initial shutdown. The first broke out on Sept. 16, 2025, and the second struck on Nov. 20, during repair work from the first. However, both were contained to the hot mill area with no injuries reported.
The outage hit Novelis’ North American results hard, as shipments in the segment fell 19% compared to a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA for North America came in at $74 million, down 51% year over year. The fires resulted in an estimated $925 million in pre-tax losses net of insurance recoveries for the full fiscal year.
Notably, Novelis mobilized its plants in Europe and South Korea to supply U.S. customers during the outage, but the contingencies incurred by automakers cost them billions of dollars. Additionally, the restart comes as aluminum prices face additional pressure. The U.S. raised tariffs on imported aluminum from 25% to 50% effective June 4, 2025.
With the hot mill now operational, Novelis says it is working closely with customers to ramp up supply. The company is also accelerating the implementation of a standardized operating system to strengthen supply dependability going forward.
Novelis is also launching a new $5 billion recycling and rolling plant in Bay Minette, Alabama. The cold mill began commissioning in March, with full operation expected in the second half of this year. The plant will produce as much as 600 kilotons of finished aluminum products annually and generate up to 1,000 jobs.
