Oswego Mill Resumes Production
Novelis Restarts Key Oswego Mill Nine Months After Fires, Restoring Auto Aluminum Supply
Anonymous
Key Points
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Details of the two fires: the Sept. 16, 2025 blaze idled the hot mill that produces aluminum sheet later stamped into “hoods, fenders, and pickup beds,” while the second fire on Nov. 20 erupted as crews were repairing September’s damage, “tore through the rebuilt mill and surrounding structure,” delaying the restart timeline from late 2025 to mid-2026.
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Quantified impact on Ford demand/inventory beyond “dealer shortfalls”: one report says the aluminum shortage cut F-150 inventory nearly 24%, and Ford’s U.S. F-Series sales fell 13% in May to 69,175 units and were down 15% year to date.
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Novelis’ own performance was hit: the Oswego outage reduced shipments in Novelis’ North America segment by 19% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA for North America dropped to $74 million, down 51% year over year.
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Novelis leadership emphasized reliance on its broader footprint: CEO Steve Fisher said the company “leaned on its global network to keep automakers running,” adding, “Restarting the Oswego hot mill is an important step forward…for our customers” and that Novelis was “deeply grateful for the flexibility and partnership” shown by customers.
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Beyond Ford, the restart matters to a broader automaker customer base: Novelis said the Oswego plant is the largest domestic supplier of U.S. automotive aluminum sheet and serves about a dozen companies, including Ford, GM, and Stellantis brands Jeep and Ram (as well as foreign automakers producing in the U.S.).
Novelis restarted its hot mill in Oswego, New York on Wednesday, ending a nine-month shutdown caused by two fires in fall 2025. The outage hammered the U.S. auto industry, cutting F-150 dealer inventory by nearly 24% and costing Ford an estimated $2 billion, according to Detroit Free Press.
The Oswego plant is the largest domestic source of automotive aluminum sheet in the U.S. It serves about a dozen automakers, including Ford, GM, and Stellantis brands Jeep and Ram. Novelis said the mill will run below full capacity as it ramps back up and works to restore supply with customers, Newsmax reported.
Two Fires Turned a Weeks-Long Fix Into Nine Months
The first fire broke out on September 16, 2025. It damaged the hot mill — the equipment that flattens aluminum slabs into thin sheets used for truck hoods, fenders, and pickup beds. Novelis initially expected to be back online by late 2025, according to CNY Central.
Then a second fire hit on November 20, while repair crews were still working. It tore through the rebuilt mill and surrounding structure, resetting the recovery timeline to mid-2026. The double blow is what turned a manageable disruption into a nine-month industrial crisis. Novelis said no workers were injured in either fire.
Ford Lost Billions as F-Series Inventory Dried Up
Ford felt the outage hardest. F-150 dealer inventory fell nearly 24% as the aluminum supply dried up. Ford's U.S. F-Series sales dropped 13% in May 2026 to 69,175 units and were down 15% year to date. The company put the total cost of the disruption at roughly $2 billion, AOL reported.
To recover, Ford said it needs to add about 50,000 extra truck units to inventory. The company warned that F-Series stockpiles would not normalize until the second half of 2026. Part of the $2 billion hit came from sourcing aluminum overseas — a costly workaround made worse by the U.S. Section 232 aluminum tariff, which rose to 50% in 2025, according to Detroit Free Press.
Novelis' North America Business Took a 51% EBITDA Hit
The fires did not just hurt automakers. Novelis itself absorbed a severe financial blow. Shipments from its North America segment fell 19% year over year during the outage. Adjusted EBITDA for the region collapsed 51% to just $74 million, according to Newsmax.
CEO Steve Fisher said the company "leaned on its global network to keep automakers running" while the Oswego mill was dark. On the restart, Fisher said it was "an important step forward for our customers" and that Novelis was "deeply grateful for the flexibility and partnership" its customers showed during the shutdown.
One Plant's Failure Exposed the Whole Industry's Weak Spot
The Oswego outage revealed a concentrated risk at the heart of U.S. auto manufacturing. Ford shifted the F-150 to an aluminum body in 2015. Since then, Oswego became the central domestic supplier of the high-grade sheet needed for that strategy. When one mill went down, more than a dozen brands felt it, CNY Central reported.
Analysts now expect automakers to rethink how much they depend on a single plant. With the hot mill restarting but still below full capacity, Ford and other OEMs are not out of the woods yet. The industry is watching Oswego's weekly output closely, with full inventory recovery not expected before the second half of 2026.
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