Data Desk
Aluminum and Nonferrous Mill Shapes: Why These Series Do Not Measure a Premium
A broad nonferrous mill-shapes index was previously presented here as an aluminum-only price. Correcting the source changes what the comparison can establish.
The global aluminum benchmark is $3,158/tonne as of Jul 2026. BLS WPU1025, Nonferrous Mill Shapes, reads 399.03index (1982=100) as of Aug 2026. This page previously called WPU1025 an aluminum mill-shapes index and interpreted its difference from the aluminum benchmark as a domestic premium. That identification was incorrect: the PPI covers nonferrous mill shapes across metals. The source ID and stored observations are unchanged; the product label and conclusions have been corrected.
Different products and different units
The aluminum benchmark is a price per tonne; the PPI is an index of producer prices for a broader product population. An index reading of 399.03 is not a dollar quote for aluminum sheet, plate or extrusion. Dividing the benchmark by that index produces price per index point, not a supplier markup. Differences in percentage changes can describe these two series, but do not isolate conversion costs, tariffs, freight, margins or the portion of an aluminum invoice explained by any one cause.
Nonferrous Mill Shapes PPI, Aug 2026: 399.03index (1982=100). The retained series ranges from 295.97 in May 2025 to 414.17 in June 2026. These are index observations for WPU1025, not aluminum invoice prices.
What a premium estimate requires
An aluminum premium estimate needs matched aluminum observations: the purchased alloy and form, weight, price unit, delivery location, contract date and the comparable metal benchmark. Separate agreed conversion, freight and other charges using those contract and invoice records. A correlation between two broad public series does not establish that a particular supplier follows either series, or that the unexplained movement is a domestic margin.
Use explicit assumptions for a budget scenario
A hypothetical $500,000 annual purchase with an explicitly assumed 10% price increase would add $50,000 if quantity and specifications were held constant. That is scenario arithmetic, not a premium inferred from these charts. To choose the percentage, use actual comparable quotes or a contractually agreed index with a matching product scope. The previous premium-dollar estimates on this page have been removed because WPU1025 cannot establish them for aluminum purchases.
Use actual invoice prices and quantities in the material price variance calculator; keep product mix and volume changes separate. Check an actual purchase-price change
Published 2026-08-18.