[ferro-alloys.com]Several US aluminum rolling mills and extrusion facilities announced temporary suspensions to their operations this week as the coronavirus pandemic has continued to skew markets and dent demand.

Aleris halted production at its Lewisport, Kentucky, aluminum rolling mill, effective March 30 until April 13, a company representative told S&P Global Platts Friday.

"In response to our major automotive customers announcing temporary production shutdowns, coupled with uncertainty in other markets, we are making the difficult decision to temporarily suspend production at our Lewisport site for two weeks, or until we have worked through the full extent of COVID-19's impact on our customers," Aleris Communications Director Jason Saragian said.

"These are very dedicated and committed employees, and we will remain in close contact with our automotive customers in the coming days so that we can ensure we are back up and running at Lewisport as soon as possible."

Arconic also confirmed upcoming suspensions of operations at two of its US facilities.

"Starting next week, two of our plants in the US, the Tennessee Operations and Arconic Massena in New York, will temporarily idle as a result of disruptions related to COVID-19," Arconic spokeswoman Tracie Gilozzi told Platts Friday.

Arconic's Tennessee rolling mill produces aluminum for the automotive and industrial end markets. The company's Massena extrusion facility serves the industrial, aerospace, defense and automotive industries.

Norsk Hydro, which operates several extrusion facilities in the US, said its extrusion output had been heavily curtailed as a result of reduced demand in the current environment.

"About 35% of the sites within the extruded solutions business are running at approximately normal levels today, but 40% are running at reduced levels, and it varies between plants," Hydro CEO Hilde Aasheim told investors during a call Friday. "And, 25% of our sites are either closed or running at very low levels. The impact is felt across the whole portfolio and impacting deliveries to almost all sectors, primarily toward the building and construction and automotive sectors."

Hydro did not clarify which specific US or global operations were impacted. A representative for Hydro could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

In contrast, Alcoa said it has taken strong measures to protect its global workforce and production from the threat caused by the pandemic.

"Presently, all of Alcoa's bauxite mines, alumina refineries, aluminum smelters, casthouses and its rolling mill remain operational and with appropriate protocols in place to protect our workforce, suppliers, customers and communities," Alcoa said in a statement Friday.

LATEST SHUTDOWNS FOLLOW EARLIER CLOSURES

The idling of the mills that was confirmed this week followed previous operational suspensions announced by Novelis and Constellium in March.

Novelis spokesman Matthew Bianco told Platts in March the company's plants in Oswego, New York and Kingston, Ontario, were primarily impacted by the US automaker shutdowns in North America. Both sites curtailed their aluminum sheet output for the automotive market until further notice, effective March 20, but the facilities continue to produce aluminum for the beverage can and specialty markets, he added.

"Novelis is experiencing some disruption to our global aluminum production as a result of reduced demand from those customers that have temporarily shut down their own manufacturing operations due to COVID-19," Bianco said.

Constellium also reduced or suspended activities at some of its manufacturing sites in response to the pandemic.

"Responding to customer demand and employee safety, we are taking decisive actions," Constellium CEO Jean-Marc Germain said in a statement. "While the situation remains very fluid, I believe we are well positioned to manage through this uncertain time."

A Constellium representative declined to provide additional information related to the specific operations that were affected.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]