Steel Markets
January 20, 2020
Associations Trade Letters in Automotive Materials Debate
Written by Tim Triplett
Steel and aluminum producers agree that lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles are better for the environment—but that’s where the consensus ends. In letters to the editor published recently by Automotive News, the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Aluminum Association wielded dueling studies to support their claims that theirs is the material of choice to reduce vehicle emissions and increase safety.
“It’s good for the auto industry, good for consumers and good for our planet to see increasing awareness throughout the automotive supply chain, where a true accounting of vehicles’ impact on the environment includes the total life cycle, including materials,” wrote Jody Hall, vice president of the automotive program at AISI in her letter. “For too long, the regulator-driven focus on fuel economy has encouraged an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ dismissal of major environmental costs that must be factored into any serious discussion on sustainability.” The steel industry maintains that aluminum’s weight advantage over steel is more than outweighed by the environmental impact of generating all the electricity required to produce aluminum.
