BIR World Mirror on Non-Ferrous Metals

The important task of charting scrap flows

Your Non-Ferrous Metals Division leadership, along with the BIR Secretariat, has again undertaken the task of publishing statistics on the international movements of copper and aluminum scrap. While we understand that other metals are important as well, we have chosen once again to focus on the two largest commodities that flow to and from markets around the world. We are working with the World Bureau of Metal Statistics who will produce a booklet within a reasonable amount of time so that their findings can be of good value.

These statistics can be very useful, and not just for our own information. They are of value when government bureaucracies need information, especially when they are petitioned for export controls; to consumers to measure what is being exported and where; and of course to those who use such statistics in building economic models for measuring development, particularly in developing nations. Both the short- and long-term implications of scrap movement can be quite telling.

As we meet in Miami, our focus will be on a part of the world that is indeed in a state of development. I know that you will find our speakers interesting and that our program will bring a heightened degree of knowledge to Latin America as it continues its economic development (...)

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

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