A Copper Alliance Member
U.S. Copper Industry Continues Record Growth
October 15, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK— Copper consumption in the United
States grew about 30 percent for the period 1992 to 1998—that's
a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, outstripping the
growth of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, which was 3.2 percent
for the same period.
The USA represents nearly 5 percent of the world's total population; however,
it consumes some 24 percent of the world's refined copper output. This
amounts to almost 24 pounds per capita, one of the highest levels in the
world.
Total 1998 U.S. end-use consumption (copper and copper alloy mill and foundry
products to domestic markets), at 8.6 billion pounds, set an all-time record,
up 2.0 percent from the 1997 level of 8.5 billion pounds. Consumption levels*
for the first seven months of 1999 ran 2.6 percent ahead of last year.
If the rate continues, nearly 8.9 billion pounds will be recorded for 1999—the
fourth straight record year for U.S. copper and copper alloy consumption.
Copper and its main alloys of brass and bronze are essential to products
we all use in our everyday lives. There are more than 450 copper alloys
formulated for very basic applications such as wire, water tube and architectural
products through such ultra high-tech uses as connectors, semiconductors
and aerospace applications.
Building construction in 1998 continued to be the largest end-use market
for copper products, accounting for more than two-fifths (41.4 percent
or 3,572 million pounds) of total U.S. consumption. Other end-use markets
include:
Electrical and electronic products— 26.0 percent (2,247 million pounds)
Transportation equipment— 12.4 percent (1,068 million pounds)
Industrial machinery and equipment— 11.2 percent (967 million pounds)
Consumer and general products— 9.0 percent (782 million pounds)
There's increasing demand for copper tube, brass rod, and electrical and
telecommunications wiring stemming from robust activity in the housing,
commercial construction, air-conditioning and transportation markets.
Copper maintains an 85 percent market share for water tube nationwide,
while virtually all branch wiring in new homes and commercial buildings
is solid copper. The growth of the Internet and the consumer and commercial
demands for being "connected" is pushing up high-capacity (Category 5)
copper wiring installations. Meanwhile, the increased production of automotive
vehicles and their increasing reliance on electronics are fueling a surge
in copper for wiring harnesses and related devices.
The demand for copper magnet wire (more than 700 million pounds in 1998),
used for winding motors and transformers, continues to grow, based on the
need for improved electrical energy efficiency in order to achieve America's
conservation goals.
Exports to Third World countries, along with innovations in automotive
radiators, business electronics, electrical motors and plastic mold tools,
among others, are expected to spark greater demands for man's oldest metal
in the new millennium.
Recycling counts, too. Not only is the USA the world's largest consumer
of copper, it is also the world's largest collector of copper scrap. The
USA has the world's largest resource base of copper products-in-use, estimated
to exceed 81 million tons of copper. Copper continues to be one of the
most highly recycled metals; copper from secondary sources currently accounts
for 45 percent of all U.S. consumption.
(* 1999 consumption levels are based on CDA and American Bureau of Metal
Statistics data.)
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