Quick can supply updates from Crown and Ball corporate calls in Q3

As you know, the domestic aluminum can supply is F’d right now. This year alone, it is said the U.S. is short about 10 billion cans – the equivalent to 9 percent of the entire 2019 market.

In efforts to un-F it, or as they phrased it “meet accelerating demand,” Crown Holdings explained its timeline for expanding North American production in its third quarter investor call this week. Here is Timothy J. Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer:

“Early this year, we commenced production on the third line at the Toronto, Ontario facility to meet the increasing requirements of customers. In June, we began commercial production on the third line at our Nichols, New York facility.  …  Construction is also underway at our new greenfield facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, an attractive location to effectively serve a number of diverse customers in the region.

“The first production line of the plant is targeted to start up during the second quarter of 2021, with the second line targeted for a late third quarter 2021 start up.  To meet the expanding requirements of specialty cans in the Pacific Northwest, we will construct a third line in our Olympia, Washington plant which is scheduled to begin production during the third quarter of 2021.”

So, most of the capacity comes online in late 3Q with the second line in Kentucky and in Washington.

Last month, Ball Corp. bought a 1.1 million-square-foot building in Pittston, Penn., to build out another can factory, that is projected to start production in mid-2021, along with another plant being built in Glendale, Ariz. Those are expected to add about 6 billion cans from mid-2021 to end-2023.

In total, Ball Corp. said during its Investor Day call this month that it is planning for about 25 billion units of capacity additions by 2023 with about two-thirds of this capacity being in North America. That number tracks slightly higher than Ball’s expectations of a demand growth rate of 6% over the timeframe.

I assume none of that makes you feel better, but there is your corporate canning update for the third quarter.