High times for copper

For the fifth straight year, copper usage in the U.S. reached record levels.

Preliminary data indicate that total usage levels in 2000 were nearly 1% higher than in 1999, a year in which U.S. end use reached an all-time high of 4.2 million tonnes, or more than 15 kg per capita. Put in a wider perspective, copper consumption in the U.S. rose almost 40% during 1992-2000, a 4.5% compound annual growth rate that exceeded the country’s gross domestic product by 1.2% during the same period. Canadian consumption mounted an even bigger percentage increase: estimates for 2000 show a 5.2% hike, to 341,000 tonnes from 324,000 in the previous year.

Growth was especially high in the wire and cable sector, which, in 1999, accounted for 2 million tonnes, equivalent to almost half the copper used in the U.S. Building wire is the largest end-use market, consuming more than 635,000 tonnes, followed by telecommunications at 298,000 tonnes.

Energy efficiency helped drive the wire and cable markets. Several independent groups succeeded in pushing for higher efficiency standards for motors, encouraging purchasers to exceed the requirements of the U.S. Energy Policy Act. Similar improvements occurred in transformer windings and building wire in commercial and industrial buildings.

In residential construction news, the U.S. National Electrical Code increased the American wire gauge minimum size, which is expected to yield 60% more copper per metre of home wiring annually.

Meanwhile, telecom wiring was aided by a U.S. Federal Communications Commission ruling that requires a much higher standard of wiring for new installations. The growing domestic interest in the Internet, entertainment and other advanced communications creates a demand that could add up to nine extra kilograms of copper in each new home. This could translate into as much as an additional 9,000 tonnes of copper.

A record 619,000 tonnes of rod and bar were used in 2000, as reflected in free-cutting brass applications and a strong surge in imports. Plumbing continued to be the largest market in this sector, followed by power utilities and industrial valves. Mechanical wire kept expanding, chiefly because of growth in fasteners and closures.

Copper use also increased in the transportation sector, with some 25 kg used in the average North American vehicle. Light trucks, especially sport utility vehicles, account for most of the production, as they require more electrical and electronic components, and consequently more wire. Also, the phasing-in of hybrid electric metal-hydride batteries in Detroit is expected to add more than 41 kg of copper per vehicle.

Sheet strip and plate products accounted for an estimated 750,000 tonnes of copper consumption in the U.S. in 2000, up 10% from the previous year. Accounting for the increase were coinage production by the U.S. Mint and higher demand for electronics and building construction.

Castings and powder accounted for 200,000 tonnes of copper in the U.S. last year. The “enviro-brasses” (essentially lead-free casting alloys introduced over the past two years) are more popular, owing to environmental and health concerns, and are especially welcomed by the plumbing products market.

Research and prototype development on production of a copper motor rotor are under way. The component delivers a dramatic increase in efficiency that leads to fuel savings in electrical generation, which also benefits the environment.

Motors incorporating the new rotors reduce electrical energy losses by 15-23%, compared with motors that use aluminum rotors. Preproduction runs of the new motors indicate an improvement in energy efficiency of 1.2-1.7%.

— The preceding is an excerpt from Copper: Connecting Our Lives, published by New York, N.Y.-based International Copper Association.