Although there have been no final resolutions to date, there has been a lot of activity surrounding the Aluminum Market in the news lately that has the potential to affect material lead times and future pricing.

With respect to the ongoing antidumping case against the Chinese Aluminum mills for thin and ultra-thin gauge Aluminum Foil, our understanding is that there will be an update issued on March 20^th.   Although it is unclear as to whether the update will clarify all aspects of the case (including final countervailing duties), we will provide you with the update just as soon as it becomes available.

As you may have heard in the news last week, President Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imported aluminum.  This decision does have the potential to impact pricing, however this is an evolving situation given that the President may decide to exclude certain countries from the tariff.  We will be watching this situation closely and can share additional information as the tariffs are more clearly identified and understood.

The final factor impacting price is of course the aluminum feedstock itself (as per the LME index). This has been declining in recent weeks but is still up 3% since December 2017.

We continue to be proactive dealing with this volatile situation to maintain a stable supply chain and minimize the impact of raw material price increases. It will, however, likely take considerable time for the situation to fully stabilize.  As we are faced with longer material lead times, we ask for your assistance in thoroughly reviewing your upcoming purchase requirements and working with our customer service team so we can plan accordingly.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to discuss.  We greatly appreciate your business and understanding as we all work through this volatility.

Sincerely,

Sheri Morelli
Sales Manager
Catty Corporation
6111 White Oaks Road
Harvard, IL 60033
P 815-943-2288
F 815-943-4473
C 815-354-4854
smorelli@cattycorp.com
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