US-based aluminum roller Kaiser Aluminum delivered fewer shipments of aluminum products in the latest quarter, led broadly by declines in its aerospace and packaging segments.
The Tennessee-based company shipped 276mn lbs of aluminum products in the first quarter, down by 5.2pc from the prior-year period, it said late Wednesday.
Quarterly packaging shipments declined by 8.6pc to 130mn lbs on the year, weighed upon by reduced demand for products used by the beer industry. Kaiser began pivoting toward producing more coated goods, targeting higher-value end markets.
The company remains focused on bringing its fourth coating line online at its Warrick rolling mill near Evansville, Indiana. Kaiser began commissioning the line in the latest quarter and expects to start qualifications with customers soon, maintaining forecasts that it will reach "full run-rate levels" in the second half of 2025.
Aerospace deliveries in the quarter dropped by 7.1pc to 56mn lbs year over year, in line with Kaiser's expectations as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) recover from supply chain, labor and production constraints that disrupted aircraft production in 2024.
Airframer Boeing's quarterly jet deliveries increased in the latest quarter, and the company still expects to reach targeted build rates this year.
Automotive extrusion shipments declined by 9.4pc to 24mn lbs. Kaiser anticipates that the smallest segment of its portfolio can be insulated from wider tariff-induced disruptions in the auto industry given its products are used in high-demand SUVs and light trucks, while also intersecting both electric vehicle (EV) and internal combustion engine (ICE) platforms.
Quarterly shipments in Kaiser's general engineering unit — which produces plate, slab, bar and tube — rose by 12pc to 65mn lbs on the year. Orders for long products steadily improved, while the company has benefited from onshoring efforts by customers seeking heat-treated sheet and plate, it said.
Kaiser remains on track with its expansion at the company's Trentwood rolling mill in Spokane Valley, Washington, which will grow its production capacity of heat-treated plate for aerospace and general engineering consumers.
The company maintained its annual guidance that it provided in February, expecting support from US tariffs on imports of aluminum that have redirected demand to Kaiser and other domestic suppliers.
"We started to see business start to navigate our way, where — historically — it may have gone to imports and other things," Kaiser chief executive Keith Harvey said, "So overall, we believe that that situation bodes well for Kaiser."
The company's first-quarter profit increased by 19pc to nearly $22mn on the year, while revenues rose by 5.4pc to $777mn in the same timeframe because of higher averaged realized prices.
