MARKET TALK: Aluminum Use In Auto Indus Grows

Reports of the auto industry's demise are premature, and that's important for the aluminum industry, due to the steadily growing of use of the metal in cars. While Detroit-based companies have lost market share, this has been made up by others such as Toyota, so U.S. light vehicle sales have topped 16.5 million units eight years in a row, says Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power and Associates. Kevin Moore, global commodity manager, aluminum, for General Motors (GM) says worldwide vehicle sales rose from 53 million in 1999 to 67 million last year. GM vehicles have an average of 340 pounds of aluminum, versus 415 pounds for medium and high strength steel.