Novelis, Ford give update after third aluminium plant fire
Novelis says it continues to ship finished material to supply Ford following a third fire at its aluminum plant late last month, according to a joint statement from Ford and Novelis.
The company’s cold mill and heat treatment operations at the Oswego, New York, plant are running, Novelis says. However, it hasn’t given an updated timeline for its hot mill to restart. The hot mill was damaged in a September fire and was set to restart at the end of December.
Novelis aluminum accounts for 36% of the global market supply to the automotive industry, according to trade publication Supply Chain Dive.
The Oswego location is the company’s first U.S. operation and its largest wholly-owned fabrication facility in North America. It is equipped for aluminum scrap remelting, recycling, ingot casting, hot and cold rolling, and finishing, according to the company’s website.
Novelis states that it will continue to leverage alternative sources, including its global network of plants and industry peers, to mitigate impact.
The company also said it’s committed to strengthening the U.S. aluminum supply chain for its customers by building a new plant in Bay Minette, Alabama. It says commissioning will begin in the second half of 2026.
Following the September fire, Ford paused production of its three-row SUVs, the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, at its Kentucky Truck Plant. The fire also impacted production of Ford F-150 pickup trucks and F-150 Lightning electric pickups.
Ford Authority reports that the production of F-150 Lightnings has been put on hold indefinitely.
According to Automotive News, Ford estimates the first fire could cost the company up to $2 billion.
In the statement from Ford and Novelis, Ford reaffirms its full-year 2025 adjusted EBIT guidance of $6 billion to $6.5 billion and full-year adjusted free cash flow of $2 billion to $3 billion. These are the same financial projections the company made in its Q3 financial report released in October.
Ford also released U.S. November sales on Tuesday. It saw a 60% drop in electric vehicles sold, to 4,247, compared to 10,821 sold in November 2024. The F-150 Lightning saw a decrease in sales from 3,643 in November 2024 to 1,006 last month, or a 72.4% decrease in sales.
Automakers have prepared for an expected drop following the expiration of federal tax rebates for the purchase of EVs.
Ford did see a 13% increase in the sale of hybrid vehicles and a 2% increase in the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles.
Production at Stellantis and Nissan was also disrupted as aluminum is included in several key models, Automotive News reports.
A 2024 SEC filing for Novelis also mentions North American customers, including General Motors and Toyota.
“Ford has said it expects to lose up to 100,000 units of production in the fourth quarter as a result of the fire, but plans to make up roughly half of that in early 2026,” Automotive News reports.
The financial predictions were made before the latest fire last month.
Image
Photo courtesy of Novelis.