LME Aluminium at $2,294/t: Impact on Foil, Sachets and Blister Packaging

The Aluminium Supply Chain in Packaging

LME Aluminium at $2,294/t — up 5.2% quarter-on-quarter — is beginning to transmit into packaging input costs. The chain is short: LME cash price → aluminium coil (AL_COIL) → aluminium foil (ALFOIL) → sachet, blister, and retort laminate structures.

The rolling premium (foil vs LME) has held at 18-22%, so the LME move transmits almost 1:1 into foil pricing.

Who Is Affected

Pharmaceutical blisters. BLIST pack structures using PVC/alu or alu/alu cold-form are 25-40% aluminium by weight. A 5% foil increase adds approximately $0.003-0.005/unit on standard blister formats.

Condiment sachets. SACHET ($0.041/unit) structures with foil laminate barrier layer — single-serve ketchup, sugar, condiment formats — are seeing 3-4% unit cost increases.

Retort pouches. BOPET/alu/CPP retort structures for pet food, ready meals, and sterile medical packaging are 20-30% aluminium. Impact: $0.005-0.008/unit.

Buyer Actions

1. Review any contracts without aluminium price escalation clauses — renegotiate now while the move is still modest
2. Check PackIndex ALFOIL weekly — if it breaks $4,200/t, expect converter surcharge requests within 60 days
3. For blister packaging: evaluate cold-form aluminium vs thermoformed PVC/alu switches — the cost differential has narrowed

Use PACKIQ's Substrate Advisor to model a PVC/alu blister reformulation against current LME-indexed foil costs.