Aluminum Supplement --

the glass half-empty or half- full in the aluminum scrap market?

If you consider yourself a member of the half-empty camp, you’re probably looking at the latest statistics issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.). In May 1998, aluminum scrap consumption totaled 758 million pounds. This was a decline of 8.1% from the May 1997 total of 826 million pounds. Metallic recovery from scrap was 633 million pounds. This represents a 9.3% decrease from the May 1997 total of 698 million pounds. When May 1997 is compared with May 1998, metallic recovery from new scrap and old scrap dropped 13.7% and 3.1%, respectively.

Or perhaps, you’re feeling the bite of the Asian financial crisis. Hope for an end to the turmoil in Asia is falling as fast as the Japanese yen. If you’re on the West Coast the Asian markets are running dry. The look inland is not particularly comforting. If you’re on the East Coast, you’ve found out the Europe is also awash in aluminum scrap and is no mood to help American scrap recyclers reduce their inventories. Scrap recyclers in the heartland are getting pinched and are finding it more and more difficult to find a home for their material.

But if you consider yourself a member of the half-full camp, you’re probably taking solace in the end of the General Motors strike. GM, as with the other automobile manufacturers, is gearing up for the 1999 model year. Importantly, the trend lines suggest that the weight of aluminum in automobiles will continue to increase.

The construction market is also sending out positive signals. Architects are seeking ways to incorporate aluminum into a variety of residential and home construction projects. And, the aluminum beverage can industry is aggressively fighting to increase market share at the expense of the plastic bottle industry.

So, is the glass half-empty or half-full for aluminum scrap recyclers? Recycling Today’s exclusive aluminum scrap supplement should help you answer the question. Of course, how you answer the question might depend on your perspective. Conceivably, after reading the supplement, your perspective might change.

The author is editor of Recycling Today.