The value of one type of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hit a four-year low on April 9, as demand for the metal suffers in the wake of COVID-19 related restrictions.

The price on one alloy hit $1,455 per metric ton (66 cents per pound), the lowest value it had seen since January 2016. Another aluminum contract, trading at $1,465 per metric (66.4 cents per pound) has suffered a 20 percent drop since mid-January.

An online article by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) quotes analysts and fund traders as citing drastically reduced activity in the automotive industry as having caused aluminum’s supply to vastly outweigh demand.

One fund trader quoted by the AAP remarks, “Aluminum has some of the worst fundamentals in the base [metals] complex; the longer the lockdowns, the worse it looks.”

Not all was gloomy on the LME as it prepared to close for the Easter holiday weekend. Copper, which has been suffering a similar downward price plunge, rose by 3.5 percent in value during the same week, according to Reuters.

Analysts quoted by Reuters cited a rally in equities markets and a reduction or flattening of new COVID-19 cases in much of the world as reasons for the rebound.

The same logic may well apply to a bounce-back in aluminum prices. Vehicle and engine production will invariably return, perhaps as early as May in North America. Packaging markets have largely held up during lockdowns, as grocery store purchases represent the bulk of remaining consumer spending.

Investors and analysts quoted by the AAP, however, say the world will first have to work through considerable finished aluminum inventories before something closer to a supply-demand balance can be achieved.

Myra Moore, with some of the vinyl scrap generated at Hy-Lite that is recycled into regrind material.Photo provided by Hy-Lite and Ziprik Consulting.

Hy-Lite keeps its eye on recycling

Florida-based building products maker generates and recycles multiple materials, including vinyl scrap.

Pensacola, Florida-based Hy-Lite, a U.S. Block Windows Company, has sent out a pre-Earth Day summary showing its dedication to recycling has resulted in more than 18,750 pounds (more than nine tons) of vinyl regrind produced each year. The company says it also recycles each year some eight tons of old corrugated containers (OCC), plus office paper and used oil.

Hy-Lite, a make of acrylic block windows and panels, points to Myra Moore, shipping supervisor at its Pensacola plant, as a key person in the program’s success. She got involved in 2015 by focusing additional attention on enhancing a recycling program that began in 2007.  

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, Hy-Lite says it is sharing information on its efforts.

“I truly believe we contribute to spoiling the earth with some of our lifestyle choices,” says Moore. “This can be turned around and slowed down. I think recycling is the start. That’s why I got more involved in our company efforts. Every piece of scrap paper, every soda can and every cardboard box can be recycled.”

Moore says her dedication to the recycling effort has spawned more awareness and involvement among co-workers. Discarded materials are now looked at twice at Hy-Lite, with every item scrutinized for the possibility of recycling or reusing.

“Right now we’re regrinding and selling the scrap vinyl from our window frames,” says Moore. “We have another company pick up other items like used oil and cardboard. We also regrind our scrap acrylic from making our acrylic blocks.”

She continues, “One of the most important ways we save is by reusing packaging materials from incoming supplies. We now salvage that material to ship our own product. We recycle all incoming pallets, boxes, foam and other packaging material.”

While the big efforts are important, Moore is perhaps proudest of her role is salvaging the smaller items. She collects food and beverage containers from the company’s 27 employees and recycles them on a daily basis by taking them to a county collection site. Instead of throwing away batteries, electronics, fluorescent bulbs and aerosol cans, the company’s maintenance team saves them so she can take them to designated local areas for recycling.

According to Moore, the passion for recycling has caught on at Hy-Lite. One employee takes home empty 55-gallon drums in which silicone arrives, and he recycled 96 drums in one year. And, each week Moore herself takes three bundles of plastic sheeting to Walmart’s plastic recycling area for a total of more than 144 large plastic bundles of sheeting a year.

“I am inspired to do a small part because I know it makes a big difference,” says Moore. “I know anything that goes in the landfill never really goes away. As long as there are places that will take recyclable materials, we all have a choice. I’m constantly looking for opportunities to reduce, recycle and reuse. This gives our company the opportunity to be environmentally friendly while saving on dumpster fees and some packaging costs. This is a win-win situation.”