In contrast to most of the recycling industry, which is suffering due to the decision by China to stop accepting imports of scrap materials (for example, see Strategic CSR – Recycling and Strategic CSR - Recycling), the article in the url below reports that the trade in recycled aluminum is booming:
"Companies in the U.S. that turn junked cars and beer cans into fresh aluminum are seeing business boom thanks to the trade fight between Washington and Beijing."
While the domestic industry is doing well primarily because the tariffs are driving up the price of imports, it is particularly encouraging to see that the use of recycled aluminum is flourishing:
"Aluminum made from recycled scrap made up the majority of the aluminum used in the U.S. for the first time last year, according to market forecaster Harbor Aluminum Intelligence Unit LLC, which tracks U.S. government reports on aluminum production and scrap usage back to the 1920s."
It appears that this is mostly due to the lack of capacity for virgin aluminum, which is forcing the recycled industry to step up in order to meet growing demand:
"… domestic smelters that make new aluminum from bauxite aren't able to supply more than a fraction of the aluminum consumed, even with higher production last year. Instead, much of the increase in domestic production to offset lower imports has come from the processors that make aluminum from scrap."
What the article doesn't get into, but is more important for long-term trends, is the relative costs of new versus recycled aluminum. Right now, it seems the industry will take whatever aluminum it can get from whatever sources. If the tariffs are removed, however, what does the future hold? Will the industry revert to favoring sources of new aluminum or can the recycling process be made more cost effective to drive further innovation and encourage more recycling?
Take care
David
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Aluminum Rules the Scrapheap
By Bob Tita
January 17, 2019
The Wall Street Journal
Late Edition – Final
B2
