This Morning in Metals: Hurricane Ida slams Louisiana
This morning in metals news: Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday; copper prices have bounced back in the final third of August; and, lastly, Alro Steel has acquired metal distributor and service center Metal Stock.
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Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana
Hurricane Ida barreled down on the Gulf Coast over the weekend, making landfall in Louisiana on Sunday.
On Friday, the Energy Information Administration summarized the potential energy impacts of the Category 4 storm.
“Typically, demand for transportation fuels increases rapidly in the days before the arrival of a hurricane in the affected areas as consumers purchase fuel to prepare for evacuation,” the EIA noted. “This rapid, unexpected increase in demand puts pressure on local inventories because the rest of the supply chain has not had time to respond. Louisiana has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ida’s landfall.”
The EIA maintains a mapping system that displays energy disruptions in locations with active storms.
Furthermore, in terms of trade, the Port of New Orleans is the fourth-largest port in the U.S. The port authorities said New Orleans Terminal and Ports America for containerized operations would be closed Monday, Aug. 30.
Copper bounces back
Despite supply concerns at mines around the world, particularly in South America, the copper price lost steam in the first half of August.
However, the metal did bounce back to close the month.
LME three-month copper fell to $8,934 per metric ton as of Aug. 20. Last week, however, the price closed at $9,345 per metric ton, clawing back some of those losses.
Alro Steel acquires metal distributor
Lastly, Jackson, Michigan-based Alro Steel today announced it had acquired metal distributor and service center Metal Stock, Inc.
“This asset purchase will allow Alro to grow our customer base while providing improved service for cut-to-size metals and plastics,” Alro said in a release.
“Metal Stock was established in 1994 as a full-service metal distributor serving Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. We are delighted that the Metal Stock team will join Alro and continue to provide great service.”
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