Aluminum in 2025 was smelted at an estimated 74 million metric tons worldwide, with China producing 45 million of them, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026. The USGS also reports that the U.S. market price rose 39% and that U.S. tariffs on aluminum reached 50% for most countries. This article summarizes the USGS aluminum chapter, explains the main numbers and flags what the chapter does not say.
Who makes primary aluminum?
The USGS lists estimated 2025 primary smelter production, in thousand metric tons:
- China: 45,000
- India: 4,200
- Russia: 3,900
- Canada: 3,300
- United Arab Emirates: 2,700
- Bahrain: 1,600
- Australia: 1,500
- Norway: 1,300
- Brazil: 1,200
- Malaysia: 1,100
- United States: 660
The world total is 74,000, up from 72,800 in 2024. By our own arithmetic, that is a rise of about 1.6%, and China’s share is about 61%. The USGS lists world smelter capacity at 79,700 thousand tons, so by our arithmetic, smelters ran at roughly 93% of capacity.
How did the price change?
The USGS gives an average U.S. market spot price of 180 cents per pound in 2025, up 39% from 129.5 cents in 2024. It estimates the value of U.S. primary production at $2.6 billion, 35% above 2024. We checked that value: 660,000 tons at 180 cents a pound is about $2.6 billion, by our arithmetic.
What are the main uses?
The USGS gives this split of U.S. consumption:
- Transportation: 36%
- Packaging: 24%
- Building: 13%
- Electrical: 9%
- Consumer durables: 8%
- Machinery: 8%
- Other: 2%
What happened to U.S. tariffs?
The chapter describes a series of steps in 2025. In March, a 25% tariff under Section 232 took effect on aluminum and its derivatives, ending country-specific exemptions. By June the rate doubled to 50% for most countries, while the United Kingdom stayed at 25%. In August, more than 400 tariff codes were added, with the tariff applying only to the aluminum content of those products. The chapter reports these measures without saying how much each changed trade or prices.
How much does the United States make and import?
U.S. primary production was an estimated 660 thousand tons, down from 676. U.S. smelter capacity is listed at 1,310 thousand tons, so by our arithmetic, output was about half of capacity. Two smelters, at Hawesville, Kentucky and New Madrid, Missouri, are temporarily shut, since 2022 and 2024. A South Carolina smelter announced a restart of more than 50,000 tons a year, with full production planned for mid-2026. Net import reliance was 60%, against 62% in 2024. For 2021 to 2024, Canada supplied 56% of U.S. imports, the United Arab Emirates 8%, Bahrain 4% and China 3%.
How much is recycled?
About 3.6 million tons were recovered from purchased scrap in 2025, of which about 56% was new scrap from manufacturing and 44% was old scrap from used products. The USGS says old scrap recovery equaled about 28% of apparent U.S. consumption. New recycling capacity opened during the year, including a mill in Mississippi that shipped its first coils in June and a Minnesota plant that reached 165,000 tons a year of capacity in July.
How large are the new smelter projects?
Adding the three projects named in the chapter gives a sense of scale. The Spanish restart of 228,000 tons, the Indonesian smelter of 500,000 tons and the South Carolina restart of more than 50,000 tons come to roughly 780,000 tons a year at full capacity. By our own arithmetic, that is about 1% of 2025 world output. The projects start at different times and may not reach full output in the same year, so the figure is an upper guide and not a forecast.
Why does electricity matter to smelting?
Smelting uses large amounts of electricity, so smelters tend to sit where power is cheap or abundant. This is a general explanation and is not quoted from the USGS. It helps explain why the list of leading producers includes countries with plentiful hydropower or low-cost energy, and why power supply is often part of smelter restart decisions.
How to read the numbers
The world output figures describe smelters, which turn alumina into metal, not the mines that supply the raw material. The price and tariff data come from the same year, but the USGS does not separate their effects. The import source percentages cover 2021 to 2024 and not 2025, so they show a pattern and not the latest shares.
What happened outside the United States?
A smelter in San Ciprian, Spain, with 228,000 tons a year of capacity, restarted, with full production expected by mid-2026. A 500,000-ton smelter in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, was expected to begin operations by the end of the year. The chapter also says several Chinese provinces resumed production or completed upgrades.
How does aluminum connect to other coverage?
Aluminum shares a pattern of trade measures and import reliance with other metals in our series. See the USGS summary of U.S. mineral production, the report on copper in 2025 and the article on graphite in 2025. The largest use, transportation, ties to our coverage of the Global EV Outlook 2026.
What should readers watch for next?
Readers can watch the U.S. smelter restarts, the effect of the 50% tariff on imports and the start of the Indonesian smelter. The chapter covers 2025 and does not forecast.
Related reading: Bauxite and Alumina in 2025: USGS Shows Guinea, Australia and China Mine 76 Percent.
Related reading: Titanium Minerals in 2025: USGS Shows China Mines a Third of Ilmenite.
Related reading: Tin in 2025: USGS Shows China and Indonesia Mine 46 Percent.
Glossary
- Primary aluminum: metal made from alumina, not from recycled scrap
- Smelter: a plant that turns alumina into aluminum metal using electricity
- Section 232: a U.S. trade law authority used for national security tariffs
- Old scrap: metal recovered from used products
- Apparent consumption: production plus imports minus exports and stock changes
These definitions are general explanations and are not quoted from the USGS.
What is not covered here?
We did not read the stockpile table, which was hard to interpret, and we give no price forecast.
Key facts at a glance
- World primary production, 2025: about 74 million tons
- China: 45 million tons, about 61%
- U.S. price: 180 cents a pound, up 39%
- U.S. tariff: 50% for most countries by June
- Largest U.S. use: transportation, 36%
Frequently asked questions
Which country makes the most aluminum?
China, at an estimated 45 million tons in 2025.
How high is the U.S. tariff?
The USGS reports 50% for most countries from June 2025, and 25% for the United Kingdom.
Does the United States recycle aluminum?
Yes. Recovered scrap was about 3.6 million tons in 2025.
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