In the United States, recycling is slowly becoming the standard for many major industries. For green industries like industrial scrap metal recyclers, however, it’s an everyday norm. But recycling metal isn’t only good for the environment – the U.S. economy also gets a boost from favorable scrap metal costs. Here, Mobile, Alabama’s ASM Recycling, Inc. takes a closer look at the impacts industrial metal recycling has on the U.S. economy, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to affect the scrap metal industry.
Industrial Scrap Recycling
Each year, countless metal products reach the end of their useful lives. Rather than sticking them in landfills, project managers and other industry authorities can opt to recycle these products and receive compensation for their decision.
Recycling industrial metal helps to reduce greenhouse emissions and conserve the environment. What’s more, it also offers a way for industries to maintain their project costs, whether they’re building, producing, or pursuing another endeavor. Currently, steel scrap compensation is projected to remain at $243 per metric ton, but this may be impacted by COVID-19 and other global factors.
The Economic Impact of Scrap Metal
For the past several years, industrial metal recycling has had an enormously positive impact on the U.S. economy. In 2018 alone, this industry recycled approximately 138 million metric tons of scrap metal. Further, it is a major job creator and exporter, generating the following total amounts of jobs, wages, and economic impact:
- 531,510 jobs
- $33,437,186,600 in wages
- $109,778,988,700 in economic impact
Similarly, in terms of its environmental impact, industrial metal recycling saves the amount of energy needed to manufacture a wide range of materials. In turn, this allows the U.S. to allocate more energy to other important purposes, like heating homes, powering cars, and much more.
Industrial Metal Recycling and COVID-19
With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, industrial metal recycling may experience a boom in the U.S. economy in response to a decrease in industrial metal demand and an increase in overseas supply. Since it’s risky to start and stop metal-producing equipment, China, the world’s top producer and consumer of steel and aluminum, is still producing these metals. This surplus in industrial metal will take months to funnel out, which is putting pressure on producers in North America, Europe, and elsewhere to reduce their supply.
Currently, steel prices in the U.S. are optimal. With Chinese supply waiting for eventual COVID-19 clearance in ports and warehouses, our businesses are filling the market gap they left behind. However, once China can export their stock, many domestic suppliers are expected to take a hit. Rather than waiting for industrial metal prices to get better, metal suppliers are being advised to sell or recycle their scrap industrial metal as quickly as possible.
The Role of ASM Recycling, Inc.
That’s where a company like ASM Recycling, Inc. comes into play. By recycling their ferrous metals, suppliers can stay ahead of the curve and adjust their supply to meet the eventual shift in global metal demand. To learn more about the benefits of industrial metal recycling and our market projections, contact us at 251-470-0765 today.
