William Oplinger on production restart timeline
From Alcoa CEO on Aluminum Prices Hitting New Highs · · Stockology Insider
“I think those analysts are right that uh if if the conflict were resolved today, it will take up to a year to restart some of that capacity and potentially even even longer. As I said, we started the year in a in a fairly tight market environment uh at the beginning of the year based on a couple of curtailments that had occurred around the world, not ours. Um and strong aluminum demand. Now you have 2 and a half million metric tons that have been announced coming offline. And every day that goes by uh with this conflict, uh the remaining 4.5 million metric tons of capacity uh becomes more at risk within the Gulf.”
On , William Oplinger, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at ALCOA CORP, spoke about production restart timeline during Alcoa CEO on Aluminum Prices Hitting New Highs on Stockology Insider.
About William Oplinger
In April 2026, Oplinger stated that Alcoa met its internal expectations for the first quarter, reporting $600 million in EBITDA and guiding to a stronger second quarter. He described the aluminum market as "very tight" and "getting tighter," attributing this to conflict in the Middle East that has taken approximately 2.5 million metric tons of production offline. Oplinger said that even if the conflict were resolved immediately, it would take up to a year to restart some capacity, and he expressed a belief that "many people are underestimating the tightness in the US markets in the May-June time frame." Regarding US production, Oplinger said Alcoa does not see opportunities to build greenfield capacity in the United States because it cannot obtain low-cost energy at the level it requires. He noted that the company is paying over a billion dollars in tariff costs on imports from Canada but that those costs are passed on to customers through pricing. Oplinger also mentioned that Alcoa issued a notice to redeem $219 million of its 2028 notes and outlined a capital allocation framework prioritizing sustaining operations, maintaining a strong balance sheet, and balancing shareholder returns with growth.