Key transactions & industry news Weekly Update 03/07/2025

Metals & Mining

Airbus and Boeing report January 2025 commercial aircraft orders and deliveries. With the major strike involving 33,000 unionized workers now over, Boeing is focused on ramping up production of MAX aircraft to an FAA-approved rate of 42 per month by March 2025. In January, the company delivered 40 MAX 8 aircraft, making up for its sluggish end to 2024 due to the strike. However, Boeing produced only 30 737 MAX jets that month. Airbus’ all-time high of 863 deliveries was set in 2019, a record that is expected to be surpassed in 2025 based on Forecast International’s production forecast. Before 2019, Boeing had out-delivered Airbus every year since 2012.

US aluminum premiums spike to a record $900/t, fueling hope for Novelis’ bottom line boost. Aluminum premium prices in the US physical market surged to a record high of $900 per tonne, up ~60% since the start of 2025, on the account of looming threats of 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports by the Trump administration. This increase in the so-called Midwest premium over the LME prices is set to boost Novelis’ bottom line. The immediate impact of aluminum tariffs by the US could be positive for Novelis, as the spike in US aluminum Midwest physical premiums could enhance the company’s profitability. But there is a condition applied. The benefit will be realised only when Novelis is granted an exemption from the US import duties.

Maan Aluminium revives after unveiling its aluminum extrusion expansion plans in Madhya Pradesh, India. After hitting a 52-week low on Monday, March 3, Maan Aluminium’s share price surged by ~5% in a single day. This increase also marked a 16.12% gain compared to the price of INR 85.2 on March 3. The boost in share price followed the company’s announcement regarding its acquisition of land in Devas, Madhya Pradesh, to expand aluminum extrusion manufacturing operations. Maan Aluminium revealed that the land would be used for the expansion of its aluminum extrusion business and the addition of value-added services.

Transportation & Logistics

Ocean carrier CMA CGM commits $1B for US air cargo operation. CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping line, will open an air cargo hub in Chicago for its cargo airline division and deploy five factory-built Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, operated by American pilots, as part of a $20B US shipping, port and logistics investment plan announced shortly after the company’s top executive met with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House. CMA CGM Air Cargo is a small freighter operation established in 2021 to round out the Marseille, France-based company’s freight transportation and logistics offerings.

House, Senate reintroduce trucker overtime pay bill. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act would eliminate an exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 that gives employers the right to exempt their drivers from overtime compensation – meaning they’re excluded from guaranteed time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours a week due to traffic congestion, weather or delays at loading docks.

As tariff window closes, trans-Pacific ocean container rates tumble. The seasonal lull and end to frontloading by importers is driving down container rates on trans-Pacific transits to the United States. Shippers for months have pulled forward imports in a bid to stay ahead of tariffs promised by the Trump administration. Those levies are now up to 25%, with the threat of 60% tariffs and other reciprocal charges that could land as soon as April.

Energy

ADNOC eyes international listing of XRG. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is considering listing its international investment arm XRG on an exchange outside of the United Arab Emirates, potentially creating one of the largest listed energy companies globally. The discussions to list a minority stake of XRG, which was established in late 2024, are at a very early stage and Bank of America is advising the company on strategy, including the possibility of listing on an international exchange.

Oil up, but off highs as Trump warns new Russia sanctions possible. Oil prices were up on Friday but retreated from session highs after US President Donald Trump threatened sanctions on Russia if it fails to reach a cease-fire with Ukraine. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was “strongly considering” sanctions on Russian banks and tariffs on Russian products because its armed forces continue attacks in Ukraine. Brent crude futures were up $1.10, or 1.58%, to $70.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.06, or 1.6%, at $67.42.

Others

Walgreens to be taken private by Sycamore in $10 billion deal. Walgreens Boots Alliance will be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10B, closing out nearly a century of trading on public markets for the US pharmacy giant. The price is a fraction of the $100B the second-largest U.S. pharmacy chain was worth a decade ago. Its fortunes collapsed as drug margins fell and as consumers turned to cheaper rivals, such as Amazon and Walmart, to fill their prescriptions and purchase toiletries.

Fed expected to cut rates in June as jobs data raises potential red flags. The Federal Reserve will head into its March 18-19 policy meeting with the labor market strong overall but showing some potential early signs of weakening, a development that could put the U.S. central bank in a tough spot if inflation remains high and the Trump administration’s tariffs add to price pressures. The latest jobs report showed the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% and the number of people settling for part-time work because they couldn’t find a full-time position also rose sharply, pushing up a broader measure of unemployment known as the U-6 to 8%, the highest level for this measure of underemployment since October 2021.