Platts proposes to reshape US Midwest aluminum implied duty-unpaid premium calculations

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, proposes to launch an alternative duty-unpaid premium for aluminum delivered to the US Midwest, effective Jan. 2, 2026.

The proposed US Aluminum Net-forward Delivered Duty Unpaid Midwest Premium (Net-forward DUP) would represent a net-forward calculation that captures both Canadian and global duty-unpaid aluminum imports, plus freight to the US Midwest.

The calculation would run alongside Platts' existing Aluminum P1020 MW US Transaction Premium (Implied Duty-Unpaid) Delivered Midwest (MMOFU00; Implied DUP) through the end of 2026.

From January 2027, Platts would apply the new calculation methodology to MMOFU00 and associated implied duty-unpaid calculations. As part of this proposal, the existing Implied DUP and new Net-forward DUP would reflect identical values from Jan. 4, 2027.

Proposed Net-forward DUP

The proposed US Net-forward DUP calculation would reflect the implied cost of duty-unpaid aluminum imports delivered to the US Midwest from Canada and New Orleans, based on assessed prices for Canada exports and US imports plus assessed freights, excluding duty.

Canada is the leading aluminum exporter to the US market, with around 67.5% share of overall imports through July 2025, while New Orleans is a major point of entry for global US aluminum imports, accounting for about 9.6% of domestic imports through the same period, according to US Census data.

Platts existing Implied DUP calculation currently reflects material subject to prevailing Canadian aluminum tariffs, based on a calculated P1020 import duty basis FOB Canada.

The alternative calculation would incorporate a new FOB Canada premium assessment that Platts has proposed separately. More details can be found here.

The proposed Net-forward DUP calculation would be a simple average (arithmetic mean), in cents/lb, determined as follows:

[(New Aluminum FOB Canada premium cents/lb + existing FOB Canada freight factor (AFLSB00)) + (existing Aluminum CIF New Orleans duty-unpaid premium cents/lb (MMNDU00) + existing New Orleans to US Midwest Aluminum freight cents/lb (MMQDU00))] / 2 = US Aluminum Net-forward Delivered Duty-Unpaid Midwest Premium

Proposed update of existing Implied DUP formula

An extended period of running the existing Implied DUP calculation alongside the new Net-forward DUP calculation would provide market participants an opportunity to evaluate how each trends over a full calendar year, in line with previous feedback received.

Following a full year of publishing both calculations, Platts proposes to apply the alternative calculation methodology to the existing Implied DUP price series. Effective Jan. 4, 2027, symbols for both the existing Implied DUP and new Net-forward DUP would reflect identical values. Under this proposal, Platts would retain the price history of the existing Implied DUP, while reflecting the new calculation's formula.

The proposed changes would affect the following assessments:

Platts US P1020A assessments for Midwest delivery, including the US Midwest Premium (MWP), are published on a delivered duty-paid (DDP) basis reflecting the delivered Midwest price of P1020 from all origins and would not be impacted by the proposed changes to the Implied DUP calculation.

US, Americas feedback

Platts had earlier proposed to update the existing Implied DUP calculation to reflect New Orleans imports, plus freight to the Midwest, in a July 1 subscriber note available here.

Market feedback in response to the proposal suggested a broader geographic area and multiple points of entry for imports should be captured. Feedback also suggested a longer lead time was needed to implement changes to the Implied DUP calculation.

The Implied DUP and related calculations were launched in 2018 to complement the Platts benchmark Midwest US Transaction Premium and the US Midwest Transaction Price (all-in) assessments for P1020 aluminum, which are assessed on a duty-paid basis. Platts has also since launched a number of regional price assessments, including country-specific premiums in Brazil and Mexico.

Full details of Platts US aluminum assessments are available in the global nonferrous specifications guide, available here.

Platts Implied DUP series is published in Metals Daily and Metals Week, and on Platts Metals Alert fixed pages PMA413 and MTL413.

Platts invites feedback, comments and questions on this proposal to metalsamericas@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by Nov. 14, 2025.