Aluminium price-fixing conspiracy
The aluminum price-fixing scandal implicated firms such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Glencore, and their affiliated warehousing entities in allegedly driving up aluminum prices by engineering artificial shortages in supply between 2010 and 2013.
Although initially regarded by some as mere conspiracy theory speculation, in July 2013, journalist David Kocieniewski of The New York Times accused Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street institutions of taking advantage of deregulated markets to manipulate commodity prices, focusing particularly on aluminum. This claim was supported by financial documentation and interviews. Following Goldman Sachs' acquisition of the aluminum storage company Metro International in 2010, the average delivery time for aluminum—used in items such as beer cans and siding—rose dramatically from six weeks to more than sixteen months. This extension led to a doubling of spot market premiums, imposing costs exceeding $5 billion on U.S. consumers during the 2010–2013 period. A significant contributor to this was Goldman’s control over approximately 25% of the national aluminum stockpile, totaling 1.5 million tons stored across 27 Metro warehouses located in Detroit.
To combat stockpiling and price manipulation, the London Metal Exchange requires a minimum daily movement of 3,000 tons of metal. Goldman reportedly met this regulation by relocating aluminum between its own warehouses instead of delivering it to manufacturers.
In August 2013, the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a subpoena to Goldman Sachs amid probes into accusations that its warehouses purposefully delayed shipments to elevate aluminum prices.
Lydia DePillis from Wonkblog reported that Goldman encouraged traders to retain metals longer within its facilities, generating higher rental income that translated into increased premiums for buyers. This strategy was further intensified by similar warehousing tactics employed by Glencore in Vlissingen.
Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine characterized the price-fixing allegations as "rather absurd," suggesting that systemic inefficiencies—potentially misunderstood by Goldman—were more likely responsible for the situation.
Goldman Sachs divested its aluminum warehousing operations to Ruben Brothers in December 2014.
By March 2015, antitrust lawsuits targeting Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Glencore, their storage subsidiaries, and the London Metal Exchange were dismissed by a U.S. federal court due to insufficient evidence. Although the case was reopened in 2019, most claims were again dismissed in 2021; nevertheless, plaintiffs with direct commercial dealings with the defendants, such as Reynolds Consumer Products, were permitted to continue litigation. These parties reached settlements with Goldman and JPMorgan Chase in 2022.