Novelis restarts Oswego: The US’ largest aluminium mill to ease auto supply fears

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Novelis, a globally prominent sustainable aluminium solutions provider and aluminium rolling and recycling firm, has officially announced the restart of its hot mill at its Oswego facility in New York. The earlier-than-expected recovery helped ease concerns over material shortages and production losses across the automotive sector.

Following the outage in late 2025, Novelis leveraged its global network of hot rolling and finishing facilities to minimise disruptions and support customer requirements. Cross-team collaborations with customers and industry stakeholders helped sustain supply flows and maintain operational continuity.

Commenting on the resumption of operations, Steve Fisher, President and CEO, Novelis, stated, “Restarting the Oswego hot mill is an important step forward for our operations and, most importantly, for our customers.”

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Back in late 2025, two major fires broke out at the firm's facilities. The first fire broke out in September 2025 at the Scriba facility in Oswego County, causing damage to the roof and hot mill and leading to a temporary shutdown of the plant.

The second fire broke out in November 2025 at the firm's Oswego plant, triggering a four-alarm emergency response. Although the fire was contained within the hot mill facility premises, the situation was worrying the authorities. The facility had not yet fully recovered from the September fire incident, which had already affected automakers with a supply chain disruption.

The company advanced its restart target from 2026 to December 2025, aided by rapid repair work, equipment replacement and the resumption of unaffected operations such as recycling, casting, cold rolling and finishing.

Novelis reported a weaker FY26 performance after two fires at its Oswego, New York facility disrupted production, reducing shipments by an estimated 145 kilotonnes and impacting Adjusted EBITDA by around USD 104 million. Its FY26 net loss was USD 15 million, down from USD 683 million Y-o-Y, while FRP shipments dipped 5 per cent to 3.56 million tonnes.

Nonetheless, Novelis remained optimistic about long-term low-carbon aluminium demand and expects the Oswego hot mill restart soon, while continuing commissioning work at its new Bay Minette recycling and rolling facility in Alabama.

Soon after, Novelis announced that its Oswego plant in New York is expected to resume production within the next few weeks. The company had earlier expected the restart to take place by the end of June, but commissioning activities are now progressing faster than previously estimated.

Now, with the hot mill back in operation, the company is actively working with customers to gradually restore supply levels. Novelis is also accelerating the rollout of a standardised operating system across its operations, a move aimed at enhancing efficiency, strengthening supply reliability and ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality products worldwide.

The company further acknowledged the support received from the Oswego community during the recovery period, highlighting the resilience and cooperation of local stakeholders.

“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,” mentioned CEO Fisher.

Novelis reaffirmed its commitment to remaining a dependable employer and long-term community partner in the region.

Market observes the recent development

The Oswego facility of Novelis is the largest supplier to the US automotive industry. Concurrently, Shares of Ford Motor, a notable customer of Novelis, gained one per cent following the announcement of the plant’s restart.

However, shares of the parent company, Hindalco Industries Limited, remain in focus as they moved from INR 1,039.3 (USD 10.86) at the close of the June 10 session to INR 1,033.1 (USD 10.79) as of 11:47 AM on June 11, marking a decline of 0.6 per cent.

This indicates the market sentiment regarding the announcement. While the aluminium hot mill of the Oswego facility is back online, the market is waiting to see when the firm can pick up pace and how rapidly it mitigates the previous setbacks.

Delve deeper: How the American aluminium industry navigates through trade shifts, sustainability pressures, and rapid advances in manufacturing in the American Aluminium Industry: The Path Forward