Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous

December 01, 2023

Platts launches US A356.2 aluminum alloy assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched a new daily price assessment for the US A356.2 aluminum alloy market, effective Dec. 1, 2023.

The new assessment complements Platts established suite of aluminum alloy assessments and responds to market participants' reports of increased usage of A356.2 over the last year. A significant price divergence emerged between the primary A356.2 alloy market and Platts existing secondary 356 alloy assessment (MMAAB00), and market feedback indicated that A356.2 was also considered a good tool to price other structural alloys, such as A365.

Based on typical trading patterns, A356.2 is assessed as a differential to the Platts US Midwest Transaction price for P1020 aluminum (MMAAF10) and includes any adders or surcharges (e.g, silicon) that make up the total cost of the product. Market information on other 356 grades, such as A356.1, may be considered for publication and normalized for the assessment.

Platts first proposed to launch the assessment on Sept. 27 via a subscriber note available here(opens in a new tab).

Following extensive feedback, Platts amended the quality specifications from the original proposal to best align with the industry standard for A356.2 metallurgical chemistry in a subscriber note published Oct. 27 here(opens in a new tab).

Specifications regarding quality, quantity, dimensions, incoterms, location, timing, payment, and unit of measure are as follows:

Assessment US A356.2 aluminum alloy upcharge
Symbol AUMIA00
Published Daily
Origin Any origin
Quality 6.5-7.5% Si, 0.12% Fe, 0.1% Cu, 0.05% Mn, 0.3-0.45% Mg, 0.05% Zn, 0.2% Ti
Quantity Full truckload
Dimensions Ingot
Incoterms and location DDP US Midwest (ex-works can be normalized)
Timing Delivery within 30 days
Payment Net 30 days
UOM cents/lb
Assessment timestamp 4:00 pm US Eastern Time

In addition to the US A356.2 aluminum alloy upcharge assessment, Platts is publishing an all-in value (AUMIB00) for A356.2 calculated from the sum of the upcharge and the US Midwest Transaction price (MMAAF10).

Please send all comments or questions to Platts_Aluminum@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if they are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.