Alcoa draws more orders after Middle East supply disruption

Alcoa has seen an increase in customer inquiries after Middle East supply disruption due to the ongoing conflict. Molly Beerman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alcoa, stated: “We are getting more inquiries from customers for the second quarter as well as for the second half of 2026 related to Middle East supply uncertainty.”

The comments were made at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday 17 March 2026.

“If you look at the Gulf smelters, they are producing just under seven million metric tons of aluminium. That’s about 9% of the global supply. And if you exclude China, it’s over 20% of the global supply,” Ms Beerman said.

The comments follow the decisions by Middle Eastern companies to curtail production – Qatalum is maintaining a reduced production capacity of 60%, whereas Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) initiated a shutdown of three smelting lines accounting for 19% of its capacity to preserve business continuity amid ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

Because of this, Alcoa is drawing in more orders: “We’re actually seeing an uptick in orders from customers and inquiries related to the second quarter and the second half of the year, because these were customers that are taking a portion or a majority of supply from Middle East smelters, and they’re now worried about getting supply for the second half,” she added.

According to Ms Beerman, Alcoa ships about four million metric tons of alumina to the Middle East to power its smelters every year.

However, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Ms Beerman said: “All of that supply that would have normally moved into the Middle East is now finding a home elsewhere will be and most of that probably will move into China, putting more cost pressure on the Chinese refineries.”