Supply chain disruption
Ford and Novelis issue joint statement following latest fire at Oswego hot mill, Novelis to build new US plant in 2026
Ford and one of its key aluminium suppliers Novelis issued a joint statement on November 21 following a fire that broke out at the latter’s plant in Oswego, New York as the facility was undergoing repairs after an initial fire at its hot mill in September. In the statement, Novelis outlined plans to build another US plant.
Novelis confirmed that the blaze was “swiftly contained and the plant was safely evacuated with no injuries to employees, contractors or first responders”. Furthermore, it noted that, as of the morning of November 21, the cold mill and heat treatment operations at the plant had restarted.
The two companies reported that Novelis’ Oswego facility “continues to ship finished material to supply Ford” and that “Novelis will continue to leverage alternate sources, including its global network of plants and industry peers, to mitigate impact”.
This comes after Ford announced in its Q3 2025 financial results that it expected the fallout from the original fire to equate to a headwind of up to $1 billion for Ford. Prior to the latest fire, Novelis was targeting December 2025 as a restart date for the hot mill, but it has not yet been confirmed how recent developments will affect this timeline.
Ford also recently announced plans to increase production of its F-150 and F-Series Super Duty models by more than 50,000 units in 2026 to recover losses from the fire and meet customer demand. Ford has reaffirmed its its full-year 2025 adjusted EBIT guidance of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, and its full-year adjusted free cash flow of $2 billion to $3 billion.
Novelis' new site in Alabama
Meanwhile, the statement also included forward-looking news from Novelis, as the company referenced its commitment to strengthen the US aluminum supply chain for its customers by building a new plant in the US. The plant, set to be located in Bay Minette, Alabama, is expected to begin commissioning in the second half of 2026.
Plans for this new "state-of-the-art" recycling and rolling mill were first announced in May 2022 and, as per an update on September 18, construction is "progressing every day".
"Bay Minette is the most consequential decision we have taken in the history of Novelis," said Dev Ahuja, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Novelis. "We could not take a risk of this size until we had a full commitment from our customers, and that happened very quickly – they were all in."
According to a Novelis fact sheet, the new site represents a $5 billion investment, which it claims is the largest economic investment in the state of Alabama's history. It is set to take in 17 billion used beverage cans on an annual basis, with a 600kt capacity for finished aluminium goods, serving both the automotive and beverage packaging markets.
Novelis has said the construction of the plant will generate up to 1,000 jobs. The company said it will "set new standards in innovation, safety, aluminum production and environmental stewardship" while serving as a cornerstone of Novelis' operations.
It is hoped the plant will "expand capacity, support the beverage packaging and automotive markets, and drive long-term value for Novelis’ people, partners and the planet".
The aluminium rolling and recycling firm currently operates 31 production facilities around the world, 16 of which are in North America. As well as the Oswego facility, Novelis also produces automotive sheets for the automotive market at two other sites in North America: one in Kingston, Ontario in Canada, and another in Guthrie, Kentucky in the the US.
Outside of North America, Novelis has manufacturing operations in South America, Europe and Asia.
