Imagine receiving phone calls and emails from potential customers asking, “are you accepting new customers?” In 2022 that question is being asked many times each day in the aluminum extrusion industry. Some would say demand is outlandishly high from all major consumers of extruded aluminum shapes, aluminum tube and pipe. Aluminum extrusion suppliers are having the same challenges other industries are having in securing raw materials, hiring and retaining employees, and shipping their products to their customers. If you are considering a new aluminum extrusion or tube project, the lead time for samples and production runs is going to be longer than you’d like. You should plan on lead times of over 20 weeks, if you can find a mill with capacity. Why?
Raw Material Constraints
Primary smelting capacity has declined over the past two decades, especially in North America and Europe. Older, inefficient, smelters have been closed and have not been replaced. Primary ingot is now shipped to North America from Asia and the Middle East. COVID-19 scrambled the global shipping industry, and it has yet to recover. Most recently, 10% of global smelting capacity in Russia is uncertain due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Extrusion Billet Production
All North America cast houses are sold out for 2022. They will likely be sold out of capacity in 2023. Additional casting capacity projects have been announced, but likely won’t have an impact until 2024.
Aluminum Extrusion Tooling
High demand and labor challenges have resulted in lead times of 4 to 5 weeks for the past 6 months, twice as long as in early 2019.
Aluminum Extrusion Production Challenges
- Demand is high across all major customers; Transportation, Building and Construction, Electrical, and Aerospace
- Extrusion billet availability is scarce. Some producers are only able to secure enough billet to run three or four days per week
- Hiring, training, and retaining employees is an ongoing challenge. It is anticipated that by 2030 U.S. manufacturing will be 2.9 million employees short of what is needed
- Absenteeism is elevated compared to 2019 levels which is causing production to run at less-than-optimal levels
- Lead times for value added services such a CNC machining and anodizing are extended due to high demand and the challenging labor market
Expect Extended Lead Times
Lead times for extruded aluminum tube and shapes are currently 15 to 50 weeks depending upon the mill. Lead times for drawn aluminum tubing are even longer. As a result of the immense challenges facing the aluminum extrusion industry, many mills are not accepting new customers! Profile Precision Extrusions has made significant investments over the past three years to increase our capacity. We doubled the size of our factory, hired more employees, added a third extrusion press, and invested in CNC and Wire EDM machining capability. If your extruded shape fits inside a 3.50” diameter circle, or your aluminum tube is 2.50” diameter or smaller, our lead times are currently eight weeks for samples.
Call us today and find out how we can help you move your project forward. Profile Precision Extrusions would love to help!
