A slowing economy in the second half of the year caused total aluminum extrusion shipments to decline in 2000 compared to 1999.
An End Use Shipments Survey, conducted by the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), Wauconda, Ill., shows reported shipments slipped by 40.5 million pounds, or 1.1%, in 2000. The survey tallies shipment figures collected from members of both the AEC and the Aluminum Association, Washington.
A decline in shipments was predictable, says AEC chairman Martin Bidwell. “We were expecting a decrease in end use figures. However, the shipments did not fall as sharply as some analysts predicted,” he comments.
Bidwell also notes that one of the most important segments of the market actually increased in 2000. “There was a significant increase in building and construction shipments in the Primary Doors and Windows market, reflecting the housing boom experienced forthe year.”
Bidwell says the survey reveals that although “the automotive segment was hit hard by the slowing economy, the other market segments seemed to pick up the slack.”
Many aluminum extruders have re-melting capabilities to use scrap aluminum as part of the feedstock for their extrusion lines. In 2000, AEC survey respondents produced 3.8 billion pounds of aluminum extrusions.