A major aluminum sheet manufacturer that supplies materials used by Coca-Cola Co. and MillerCoors for beverage cans has been forced to slow production as it works to fix a key piece of machinery that broke down last month.

FREE Download: The Monthly MMI® Report – covering the Aluminum market.

Output will be constrained until late January while repairs are made on a hot-roller motor at a facility in Russellville, Kentucky, said Fiona Bell, a spokeswoman for Novelis Inc., which partly owns the plant. The aluminum-rolling mill is the largest in North America and makes 44% of the beverage-can sheet used in the US, according to a fact-sheet provided by Bell.

* Get the complete prices every day on the MetalMiner IndX℠

On Wednesday, January 14, the day’s biggest mover was the price of Chinese aluminum scrap, which saw a 2.5% decline to CNY 11,900 ($1,921) per metric ton. The Chinese aluminum cash price declined 2.3% to CNY 12,490 ($2,016) per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum bar fell to a 30-day low at CNY 12,500 ($2,018) per metric ton after shifting 2.3%. The price of Chinese aluminum billet continues hovering around CNY 13,200 ($2,131) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row.

The cash price of primary Indian aluminum weakened by 2.1%, settling at INR 110.65 ($1.79) per kilogram. The 3-month price of aluminum changed direction with a 2.0% drop. After two days of improving prices, the metal finished at $1,782 per metric ton on the LME. The primary aluminum cash price closed at $1,766 per metric ton. Following a couple days of improvement, prices fell by 1.8% on the LME.