"For true fans of Diet Coke, soda is sacrament, and reverence comes with strict parameters. The fountain version served at McDonald's is thought to represent the peak of the form, but given the choice between plastic, glass, and metal vessels, conventional wisdom dictates that Diet Coke tastes best in aluminum cans."
"In recent weeks, those cans have reportedly been disappearing from shelves across India. Because the country's Diet Coke comes only in aluminum-can form, Reuters notes, it's at the mercy of ongoing supply issues stemming from the war in Iran. The Middle East has the capacity to produce 7 million metric tons of aluminum each year (75 percent of which is exported). That's 9 percent of the world's production capacity. And since the fighting began in late February, prices have continued to climb worldwide."
"The base price of a ton of aluminum surpassed $3,600 in April, a four-year high. The metal shows up everywhere in daily life: solar panels, MacBooks, airplane fuselage, deodorant, over-the-counter heartburn pills, cans of grocery-store cold brew. We're nowhere close to mass shortages in the United States, but around the world, the price shocks are already here."
"Aluminum is derived from a reddish mineral called bauxite. The process of refining and smelting the stuff requires an immense amount of energy, so facilities tend to be located in places where it makes financial sense to do so. When Iran began restricting ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf plants struggled to both import raw materials and export pure aluminum. Facilities in Qatar and Bahrain reacted to the uncertainty by shutting down smelters."
Diet Coke fans treat the drink as a ritual, with aluminum cans considered the best vessel. In India, Diet Coke cans have reportedly disappeared from shelves because the product is sold only in aluminum-can form and supply is constrained by aluminum shortages linked to the war in Iran. The Middle East produces a large share of the world’s aluminum, but fighting has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, limiting imports of bauxite and exports of refined metal. Smelters in Qatar and Bahrain shut down amid uncertainty, while aluminum prices have risen worldwide, with the base price of a ton surpassing $3,600 in April. Aluminum is used widely in everyday products, so price shocks spread beyond beverages.
#aluminum-supply #middle-east-conflict #global-commodity-prices #packaging-and-beverages #manufacturing-and-energy
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