Aluminum Supply 1960-2000

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The U.S. aluminum supply of 10,698,000 metric tons in 2000 originated from three basic sources:
primary aluminum (domestically produced), secondary aluminum (recycled domestic material),
and aluminum imports. This consisted of 3,668,000 metric tons of primary aluminum, 3,450,000
metric tons of secondary aluminum and 3,580,000 metric tons of imported aluminum.10 From 1990
to 2000, the annual U.S. growth of these supplies was -0.8%, 4.3% and 10% respectively. Since
1990, the total U.S. supply has risen at an annual rate of about 3.6%. Diagram 3.1 shows the
distribution of these supplies over the past 40 years (Appendix G).

The United States is the leading producer of primary aluminum metal in the world. However, its
dominance in the global industry has declined. The U.S. share of world production in 1960 accounted
for slightly more than 40% of the primary aluminum produced. By 2000, the U.S. share of world
production had decreased to 15.3%. U.S. primary production peaked in 1980, and over the past
twenty years has been gradually declining. Significant year-to-year variations occur as a result of
U.S. electrical costs and global market changes.
Secondary (recycled) aluminum is of growing importance to the U.S. supply. In 1960, only 401,000
metric tons of aluminum were recovered. In 2000, almost 3,450,000 metric tons of aluminum were
recovered. For the years 1991 through 2000, the secondary production of aluminum has grown at
an annual rate of 4.3% (Appendix G). Recently, the secondary aluminum growth rate has been
slowing because of a combination of maturing scrap collection programs and slowing market growth
of scrap sources. This is expected to change. Use of aluminum in the automotive industry grew at
nearly 10% annually between 1990 and 2000. This large and growing supply is now beginning to
enter the scrap markets and will produce new growth in secondary aluminum.