“Spreads are very tight and there seems to be a shortness of scrap,” says Matt Kripke of aluminum scrap brokerage firm Kripke Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. While these figures could point to growing demand for copper scrap in the future, demand for aluminum scrap presently is strong. Mikanikrezai said global BEV sales are expected to grow by 26 percent per year on average by 2030, with Europe likely to experience the strongest growth of 28 percent on average, followed by China at 27 percent and the U.S. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle uses about 132 pounds of refined copper, which is roughly three-times more than an ICEV, and an electric bus contains 814 pounds of refined copper, largely in its battery. Longer term, he said, the electric vehicle (EV) “revolution” would lead to increased refined copper demand, noting that a battery electric vehicle (BEV) consumes roughly 183 pounds of refined copper compared with the 51 pounds used in internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). He predicted a 16 percent increase in motor vehicle production this year. More generally, global industrial production is forecast to increase by 6 percent this year, Mikanikrezai said, with the automotive sector leading that growth, prompting increased demand for refined copper. He noted that offshore wind energy requires 22 pounds of copper per kilowatt, which is 4.5-times more than nuclear energy and five-times more than coal energy. While copper scrap buying may be somewhat muted currently, the growth of green energy could lead to increased demand for the red metal in the future, which likely will increase demand for copper scrap.ĭuring the Fastmarkets Copper Seminar March 11-12, Boris Mikanikrezai, a researcher with Fastmarkets, said copper demand will strengthen as the world transitions to green energy.
“When we see the price pull back, consumers jump in to buy.” However, he adds, “A lot of consumers are taking what they need and nothing more.” This volatility can mean that scrap consumers are interested one day and not the next day, Safran says. During the last week of February, the Comex spot copper contract had reached $4.30 per pound. The Comex spot copper contract reached $3.99 per pound March 5, a decrease of 10.3 cents per pound from the previous week, according to Davis Index.
A lot of consumers are taking what they need and nothing more.” “When we see the price pull back, consumers jump in to buy. “Everyone loves to see a higher market, but it’s a matter of knowing that the price today will be similar to the price tomorrow.” “I would like to see a little bit of stability,” says Todd Safran of copper and brass processor Safran Metals in Chicago. Scrap processors point to strong pricing for copper and aluminum scrap, though the volatility in copper pricing is making at least one scrap processor long for consistency.
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