SIC 3351 Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Copper

SIC 3351

This industry consists of establishments that roll, draw, or extrude copper, brass, bronze, and other copper-based alloys. These establishments create basic shapes such as plate, sheet, strip, bar, and tubing.

NAICS CODE(S)

331421

Copper (except Wire) Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

The 128 companies in the rolling, drawing, and extruding of copper industry are commonly known as copper fabricators. Wire rod mills, brass mills, ingot makers, and powder plants are all classified as copper fabricators. Wire rod mills and brass mills account for about 85 percent of all copper fabricators in the United States. Copper foundries are discussed in SIC 3366: Copper Foundries. After receiving smelted and refined copper ore and copper scrap, fabricators convert the raw copper into wire, strip, sheet, plate, rod, bar, and other copper products used by various industries.

Key end-use markets for copper and copper alloy are the building/construction, electrical and electronic products industries, and the transportation, industrial machinery and equipment, and consumer products industries. More than 41 percent—or 3.5 billion pounds—of all refined copper in the late 1990s was consumed by the building/construction sector. Valued for its conductivity, copper wire is essential to heating and cooling systems and is the primary type of building wire used.

After a decade of overcapacity and falling prices in the 1980s, the copper industry stabilized in the late 1990s. However, like other commodities markets, the copper industry is prone to cyclical price fluctuations. Shipments for 2000 topped $7.7 billion. Fueled by a strong domestic building and transportation market and an increasing need for copper in developing nations, demand remained strong in the early 2000s.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Copper in the United States passes from the mines to the smelters. In some cases these facilities are owned by the same company, and in some cases the mining and smelting are done nearby. The mining and smelting companies produce copper, and the wire rod mills, brass mills, and foundries are the consumers of copper who prepare the metal for delivery to manufacturers in various industries.

Mining companies process copper ores, most of which comes from open-pit mines. The ores are refined and sometimes alloyed with other elements, such as zinc or beryllium. The percentage of copper and copper alloys that went to wire rod mills in 1997 was 56 percent, while 36 percent went to brass mills, 4 percent went to ingot makers, and 2 percent to foundries. All of these fabricators created copper-based products used throughout U.S. industries. The total refined production of primary copper was 2.69 million short tons in 1997, and net imports of refined copper were 646,000 short tons.

Most brass mills in the United States operate in three areas. While one division produces rod, bar, and shapes, another division manufactures strip, sheet, and plate, and the third division produces commercial and plumbing tube. Brass rod and brass strip, two of the most popular copper alloys produced in the industry, possess the kind of corrosion resistance, machinability, and electrical properties that enable them to be used under adverse climatic conditions. Air-conditioning tube and plumbing tube are two examples of the unalloyed copper and high-copper alloys that comprise another major segment of the mill's output.

There are several associations for copper production. Foremost is the Copper Development Association, which tracks market statistics and releases public relations reports. The American Copper Council—also a trade organization central to the copper industry—tried to increase its audience by expanding its Internet presence during the 1990s.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

Copper mining began in the Middle East and...

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