The global aluminium market is in transition, and nowhere is that more evident than in the United States. What was once a predictable cycle of imports, recovery, and exports has, in 2025, become a story of trade shifts, policy shocks, and surging international appetite for recycled metal.
In the first half of the year, tariffs on aluminium and slowing domestic demand collided with a boom in global recycling, leaving the US aluminium scrap trade looking very different from a year ago.
The rise in import
Between January and June 2025, US aluminium scrap imports rose 31 per cent to 430,000 tonnes from 328,000 tonnes a year earlier. The surge is anticipated to be driven by tariff impacts on primary aluminium, shifting sourcing strategies, favourable price gaps, and sustainability goals — with no direct tariffs on scrap.
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