The U.S. Announced New Aluminum Tariffs That Are Expected To Raise The Price of Aluminum Cans

Recently, the United States government announced new aluminum tariffs that are expected to increase the price of aluminum cans.

The unfortunate ripple effect of Mr Trump's tariffs on aluminium imports will hit the metal packaging industry.Beer and beverage producers and consumers will also be affected.

In the face of cost pressure brought by rising aluminum tariffs, the following multi-dimensional strategies can be used to effectively cope with it:

Supply chain optimization

Diversified procurement channels

1. Increase cooperation with domestic aluminum suppliers to reduce dependence on imports.

2. Switch to countries not affected by tariffs (such as through free trade agreement countries), such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions

Optimization of process

Reduce waste and improve material utilization through lean production (e.g., optimize can design and reduce thickness).

Invest in automation equipment to improve production efficiency and reduce unit energy consumption and labor costs.

Material substitution and innovation

Develop lightweight design to reduce aluminum consumption.

Increase recycled aluminum cases, use circular economy to reduce costs and respond to environmental protection trends.

Sustainable Development Transformation

Green brand building: strengthen the use of recycled materials and carbon neutral production, attract environmentally sensitive customers, and enhance bargaining power.

Circular economy model: establish aluminum can recycling system to reduce raw material dependence.

The Japanese packaging manufacturer launched its state-of-the-art lightweight can in April 2024, a 190ml model can that uses just 6.1g of aluminium, which is about 13 per cent lighter than conventional cans. The aluminium content of these cans was successfully reduced by 0.9g from 7.0g to 6.1g in conventional cans by introducing compressed bottom reform (CBR) technology. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions

This reduction reduces greenhouse gas emissions per can by about 8% compared to conventional cans. If CBR technology were applied to all suitable aluminum beverage cans, annual GHG emissions could be reduced by an estimated 40,000 tons. Promote the transformation of sustainable development

In addition to 190ml cans, CBR technology is currently implemented in 350ml and 500ml cans and aims to further promote the world's lightest aluminum cans. Forced by the growth of aluminum prices in the material further spawned a more stringent aluminum recycling management system. Save costs and reduce raw material dependence

Build factories overseas

Set up production bases in low-tariff regions (e.g. Southeast Asia, Mexico) close to raw materials or markets. Diversify supply chain risks to avoid the impact of policy fluctuations in a single region.

At present, domestic cooperative manufacturers have invested and built aluminum can plants in Thailand to serve customers in Southeast Asia and North America and avoid tariffs.

In the short term, it is necessary to cope with the tariff impact through overseas layout and technology cost reduction, while in the medium and long term, it is necessary to enhance the added value of products and green competitiveness, and strive for a fair trade environment combined with policy tools. Aluminum can enterprises in China are fully capable of transforming challenges into opportunities for transformation and upgrading through globalization strategy and industrial upgrading.

Shandong Jinzhou packaging products, currently involved in the whole series of cans can be customized, in the face of new challenges, we believe that the metal packaging lightweight and sustainable development can achieve better results