Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Note 9. Commitments and Contingencies

The company has entered into certain commitments with suppliers which are of a customary nature. Commitments have been entered into relating to future expected requirements for commodities such as electricity, water, natural gas and its transportation services, fuel, air products, zinc, and electrodes. Certain commitments contain provisions which require that the company “take or pay” for specified quantities at fixed prices without regard to actual usage for periods of generally up to 5 years for physical commodity requirements and commodity transportation requirements, with some extending beyond, and for up to 16 years for air products and 28 years for water products. The company utilized such “take or pay” requirements during the past three years under these contracts. The company believes that production requirements will be such that consumption of the products or services purchased under these commitments will occur in the normal production process.

The company’s commitments for these agreements with “take or pay” or other similar commitment provisions for the years ending December 31 are as follows (in thousands):

2024	$	290,054
2025		60,120
2026		25,387
2027		24,735
2028		23,131
Thereafter		163,998
	$	587,425

At December 31, 2023, the company has outstanding commitments of $1.1 billion related to ongoing construction of property, plant, and equipment, most significantly the recycled aluminum flat rolled products mill and recycled aluminum slab facilities, as well as other steel operations expansion projects in 2024. The company’s commitments for operating leases are discussed in Note 12. Leases.

The company is involved in various litigation matters, including administrative proceedings, regulatory proceedings, governmental investigations, environmental matters, and commercial and construction contract disputes, none of which are expected to have a material impact on the company’s financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.