Aluminum Extrusion KPIs: Recovery, Press Utilization and Scrap Benchmarks
Recovery yield, press utilization, scrap, exit speed, die performance and aging oven load for extrusion plants: how to measure each KPI, what moves it, and which figures have a cited source.
Use these benchmarks as reference points for spotting a gap worth investigating, not as targets to copy. Extrusion results depend heavily on alloy, profile and die, so your own trend by profile family says more than any single published figure.
Every figure shows its basis. A superscript number links to a public source in the Sources list, and the sentence gives that source's context, such as its year or population. A figure marked no cited source is kept exactly as originally published because no public source stating it has been verified, so treat it as illustrative.
Words in parentheses give each figure's own framing. The DOE recovery figure is an industry-wide average across all alloys and profile types, from 2003 data1. The delivery and OEE figures are not specific to extrusion.
Method: How the figures in this guide are sourced
A figure with a superscript number is stated by the cited source, listed under Sources with its publisher, location in the document and access date. A figure marked no cited source is kept exactly as originally published because no public source stating it has been verified. It is illustrative, not measured industry data. Worked examples show arithmetic only and are not benchmarks.
Recovery yield
Recovery yield is the flagship KPI: shipped good weight over billet charged. Track it weekly by profile family, not just plant total, so a 6063 solid line that runs well does not mask a bleeding thin-wall die.
The broadest public figure is industry-wide. The U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 analysis of 2003 data found that extrusion processes have typical yields of 69 percent1. That average spans every alloy and profile type in U.S. extrusion.
World-class solid-profile operations hit 86 to 90 percent no cited source. Complex thin-wall hollows may sit at 70 to 78 percent and still be healthy for their mix no cited source.
How to measure
Divide shipped good weight by billet weight charged.
Report it weekly by profile family and by die.
Keep solids and thin-wall hollows in separate baselines.
Press utilization measures how much scheduled time the ram is actually pushing metal. Typical presses log 55 to 70 percent no cited source; best-in-class runs 78 to 85 percent no cited source.
The gap is die changes, billet loads, and unplanned stops. Review each loss bucket and attack the largest one first.
For example, a 15-point utilization gain across 6,000 running hours is 900 more hours of pushing time. On a press worth 500 per hour, that is about 450,000 of capacity: real capacity, not a rounding error.
How to measure
Divide pushing time by available time.
Log die changes, billet loads, and unplanned stops as separate loss buckets.
Scrap rate is recovery yield's mirror and deserves its own target. Solid profiles should run 15 to 20 percent total scrap no cited source; hollows 22 to 30 percent no cited source.
The structural loss is the butt. In direct extrusion, DOE notes that the billet surface stays in the container and contributes to butt loss, which may total 8 percent of the starting billet weight2. For crop, aim under 3 percent combined front and back no cited source.
Distinguish process scrap, which is recoverable and sold to remelt, from quality scrap, which is rework and reject. World-class holds quality scrap under 2 percent of shipped no cited source.
Scrap also costs energy. DOE's analysis puts U.S. extrusion at about 1.30 kWh of process energy per kg of extruded product, and names scrap and butt reduction as the largest energy-saving opportunity1.
How to measure
Weigh total scrap against billet charged, by profile family.
Split butt, crop, process scrap and quality scrap.
Report quality scrap against shipped weight.
What moves it
Butt length.
Front and back crop length.
The rework and reject causes behind quality scrap.
Exit speed drives throughput and is the most improvable lever. 6063 solids commonly run 25 to 70 ft/min no cited source; hard 6061 and complex hollows 12 to 30 ft/min no cited source.
For example, pushing average speed from 45 to 55 ft/min lifts output during pushing time by 22 percent, with no capital. Output per press hour rises by less, because billet loading and butt shearing do not speed up.
Levers are billet taper heating, die nitriding and correction, and consistent billet temperature within plus or minus 10 F no cited source. For reference, DOE reports that billets up to 275 mm in diameter are typically preheated to 450 to 550 C, about 840 to 1,020 F, depending on alloy, product design and required properties7.
How to measure
Record speed in feet per minute for each die.
Log the limiting factor on every run: tearing, blistering, or press pressure.
Metal-in-motion productivity ties speed and profile weight together. Measure it in pounds per minute of running time, then convert it to realized pounds per press hour with utilization.
A press averaging 180 to 260 lb/min of running time is strong for medium sections no cited source. Light thin-wall may only reach 40 to 90 lb/min regardless of skill, because the section is light no cited source.
For example, 180 to 260 lb/min over a full hour of running time is 10,800 to 15,600 lb. Multiply by utilization to get realized pounds per press hour.
Benchmark within a weight band, not across your whole mix, or you will chase a number the physics forbids.
How to measure
Record pounds pushed per minute of running time.
Multiply by utilization to get realized pounds per press hour.
Die performance KPIs quiet a lot of downstream noise. Track first-trial success rate, with a target of 60 to 75 percent for new dies no cited source.
Track die life in pounds before scrap too, commonly 40,000 to 150,000 lb for solids depending on nitriding cycles no cited source. Correction turns per die and average corrections before a stable window, where the aim is under 2 no cited source, predict both scrap and utilization.
Amortizing die cost over realized life shows whether longer nitride cycles pay back through fewer corrections and higher first-trial yield.
How to measure
Count new dies that run good profile on the first trial.
Record pounds pushed before each die is scrapped.
Log correction turns per die until the run is stable.
What moves it
Nitriding cycles.
Die correction practice.
Profile and die design reviewed before the first trial.
Aging and finishing throughput cap the whole line, so benchmark them too. Aging oven utilization should hold 80 to 90 percent of basket weight capacity per cycle no cited source.
Running half-full baskets comes close to doubling energy per pound. The oven runs the same cycle either way, and only the heat taken up by the metal itself shrinks with the load.
A 350 to 375 F T5 cycle of 6 to 8 hours no cited source must be matched to press output in pounds per hour, so extruded stock does not queue.
How to measure
Weigh each basket load against its rated capacity.
Track load percentage per cycle, not per day.
Compare oven pounds per hour with press output.
What moves it
Basket loading plans matched to upstream output.
Cycle scheduling, so stock does not queue or run in half loads.
On-time delivery and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) sit on top of all of these as the summary scoreboard. Target on-time delivery of 95 percent plus3, 4.
That target matches how aerospace customers score suppliers. RTX rates a supplier Performing at 95 percent or better and Progressing at 90 to 95 percent3. Lockheed Martin rates 95 to 97.99 percent as Approved and 98 to 100 percent as Excellent4.
OEE multiplies availability, performance, and quality. The world-class figure usually cited, from Seiichi Nakajima's 1984 work on total productive maintenance, is 85 percent across industries5, 6. Most manufacturers run closer to 60 percent5, and a study of 94 Swedish manufacturers measured an average of 51.5 percent6.
How to measure
Measure delivery against the first promised date.
Compute OEE per press as availability times performance times quality.
Review both monthly next to the KPIs that drive them.
What moves it
Press utilization and exit speed, which set availability and performance.
Quality scrap, which sets the quality factor.
Aging and finishing capacity matched to the press.
How to build your own baseline
Define recovery yield once and keep the definition fixed.
Baseline every KPI by profile family or weight band, not plant total.
Collect several months of data before you set a target.
Log the limiting factor whenever a KPI moves.
Compare against your own trend first and published ranges second.
Supplier Rating System User Guide. RTX Corporation (Raytheon Supplier Rating System). published 2026. p. 8, 'RTX performance criteria' table. Accessed September 30, 2026.
Lockheed Martin's Supplier Scorecard. Lockheed Martin Corporation. published April 2021. 'Delivery Rating Scale' panel. Accessed September 30, 2026.
World-Class OEE: Set Targets To Drive Improvement. Vorne Industries (OEE.com). Sections 'What Is World-Class OEE?' and 'Some Perspective on World-Class OEE'; figures attributed to Seiichi Nakajima, Introduction to TPM (1984). Accessed September 30, 2026.