BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals - January/February 2013

A solid place for our industry

The flow of non-ferrous scrap around the world continues to evidence strong patterns of demand from nations with limited or geographically-displaced supplies of scrap or of naturally-occurring ore deposits from which to make virgin metal. This portends a solid place for our industry in the many years to come as industrializing nations’ economies expand to become developed economies, ie when their per-capita GDP reaches certain financial thresholds and they are no longer considered to be in states of development.

Usually, this comes hand in hand with increased availabilities of domestic non-ferrous scrap, together with consumerism, enhanced production capabilities and overall economic maturity. We have seen this in many parts of Asia over the past decades - think of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

This will most certainly occur in China. As we look forward to our spring meeting in Shanghai at the end of May, the BIR Non-Ferrous Metals Division will address, among other subjects, how our industry might look in an era when that country is less dependent on scrap generated by the outside world. While the paradigm change may be years in the offing, it’s something we in the non-ferrous market need to consider as we look to the future of our business.

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

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