BIR World Mirror on Non Ferrous Metals - December 2013

Memorable for the wrong reasons

There are from time to time memorable years in our business, usually those that provide excellent results; years of acceptable volumes coupled with healthy margins.

2013 will be memorable, but certainly not for anything positive. The industry suffered from competition that often seemed illogical as both processors and consumers fought for every unit available. Some grades of scrap became overvalued and were replaced with their primary counterparts, hampering the income of many consumer fabricators while at the same time reminding them of the important role that our material has in the production stream.

Our industry was surprised by the oft-delayed enforcement of policies in China that served to impede shipments of scrap to that country. The enforcement policy under “Green Fence” has created a baseline for quality and environmental compliance for goods entering China that will be with us for many years.

BIR has insisted many times that we recognize China’s sovereign rights to enforce its policies, but that surprises cause our members undue stress and expense that are ultimately paid for by our Chinese customers.

So it’s a time to look forward, not back, to use the lessons of 2013 to our advantage...

Robert Stein
Alter Trading (USA)
President of the BIR Non-Ferrous Metals Division
1 December 2013

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