TPT July 2011

G lobal M arketplace

Automotive Battle lines are drawn by US Steel, Alcoa: steel versus aluminium for the cars of the future With fuel efficiency an increasingly assertive imperative, the market share commanded by steel and by aluminium in automobile manufacturing is largely a matter of the relative weight, cost, malleability and strength of the two metals. Writing in the investors’ newsletter Motley Fool , David Lee Smith noted that, in their rivalry over business from the world of automobile design, US Steel Corp and the aluminium giant Alcoa are seeking to attract “the scads of engineers” ― 1,300 new hires at Alcoa in the past year alone ― who will provide the edge in the metal-on-metal competition. Federal CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards mandate that vehicle fleets demonstrate 35.5 miles per gallon in average fuel efficiency by 2016, and the race to strip weight from cars is on. Aluminium, 10% to 40% lighter than steel, is ahead on weight. As to cost, aluminium, which once cost twice as much as steel, has progressively trimmed that differential. It cannot compete on strength, of course. Of the metal consumed by the world automobile industry, some 87% is steel and 13% aluminium. But Mr Smith pointed out that, with lighter-weight cars becoming a necessity, that lopsided balance is likely to shift toward aluminium. Indeed, he wrote, “A Ford Motor executive has been quoted as prophesying that cars could become at least 50% more aluminum-intensive” within this decade. (“Alcoa and Its Pals Gaining on Steel,” 11 April) Mr Smith also observed that neither of the Pittsburgh neighbours is going it alone in its researches into ways to pare down the carbody skeleton, which typically accounts for a quarter of vehicle weight. US Steel is in a major joint venture with Japan’s Kobe Steel, while Alcoa engineers work closely with technological counterparts overseas, like those affiliated with Australia’s BHP Billiton and Aluminum Corporation of China Limited. (Also known as Chalco or Chinalco, this is the largest Chinese aluminium producer.) For its part, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal ― not to be outdone ― is placing automotive design centres in China and Japan. Europeans with long memories are slow to kindle to the improved products of Detroit “Opel and Ford both scored far worse than brands including Volkswagen and Honda in a recent German study.” The reporter, auto critic Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press , was writing from the 81 st Geneva International Motor Show, held 3-13 March. The reference was not to the relative performance of those companies’ cars but to the perceptions of their brands in the minds of Europeans. What Mr Phelan himself perceived at the event that launched Europe’s new-car season was that General Motors and Ford cars are seen in Europe as uncompetitive, low-budget brands

ExtrEmEly rElIABlE tEchnology ORBITAL WELDING sOLuTIONs

Discover the widest range of orbital welding heads and power sources for tube, pipe and tube-sheet welding. State of the art –field proven solutions, easy to handle for outstanding quality and productivity.

50 Years of Excellence in Providing Innovative Weld Technology and Expertise.

Worldwide Organisation Provides Support Next to You.

International Sales and Service, On-Site Training and Maintenance with Rental Options.

2, rue Paul Beaupère (F) 44300 Nantes Tel. +33 (0) 2 40 68 11 00 - Fax +33 (0) 2 40 68 11 88 info@polysoude.com - www.polysoude.com

87

www.read-tpt.com

J uly 2011

›