The ongoing geo-political conflict in the Middle East has risked the supply chain disruption of aluminium due to the Strait of Hormuz blockage, the key shipping route for metals. This phenomenon has raised a concern for the US-based beverage brand Coca-Cola since the country relies heavily on aluminium imports from the Middle East. Nearly 22 per cent of total primary aluminium imports of the United States comes from the GCC countries, amounting to 607,200 tonnes as of November 2025.
Overall, the Middle East (especially the Gulf countries) produces roughly 8-9 per cent of the global aluminium with around 6 to 6.5 million tonnes of primary aluminium output, with Emirates Global Aluminium being the GCC’s biggest smelter. Most of the smelted metal gets exported from this region, accounting for about 85 per cent of the total production.
Owing to this major impact on trade, aluminium prices have grown exponentially, increasing the input costs for the aluminium packaging sector in the US. Aluminium prices have surged to a 4-year high, rising towards $3,500 per tonnes in March 2026. At the same time, US tariffs are also pushing prices up, since the time the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on imported aluminium and steel, with effect from June 4, 2025.
When the tariffs hit, former CEO of Coca Cola, James Quincy said that the company imports aluminium for the production of their cans from Canada, as they try to prevent any surge in pricing from the tariffs, and they could be soon forced to switch to plastic bottles, “For example, if aluminium cans become more expensive, we can put more emphasis on PET [plastic] bottles, etc.", said Quincey.
