Show COPPER METAL SITUATION john D ryan president of the copper export association was quoted recently on the copper metal situation as follows A year ago the representatives of the copper export association visited the countries of europe excepting the central empires and russia that are important in the consumption of copper and made the most accurate possible determinations as to stocks of the metal on hand in the form of raw copper and scrap which was left as a result of the manufacture of munitions from the most definite figures obtainable covering the years business both production and consumption in this country and the countries of europe excluding the central empires and russia we are now able to determine quite accurately what the consumption was during the year ending last month and what is the state of the industry as regards stocks of finished metal on hand and further what is the prospect for the year ahead our committee reported that the stocks on hand in europe at that time excluding the central empires and russia aggregated about pounds of new copper and pounds of copper in scrap this amount included about pounds of copper belonging to the foreign governments which were then held on this side but have since been exported and 75 pounds of australian copper that had been accumulated by the british government and left in australia for lack of shipping during the war making a total of available stocks in those countries of pounds the production for the year outside of the united states refineries was about pounds and through the united states refineries pounds the stock of copper purchased by producers from the united states government surplus and the copper contents of the government stocks of scrap in the hands of manufacturers pounds making a total of european stocks worlds production and stocks acquired from the united states government pounds from this must be deduc deducted tea an increase in the refinery stocks in the united states of pounds and the estimated stocks of copper and scrap in europe pounds or a total of pounds leaving an apparent worlds consumption of pounds which is in excess of the production of any year in history including the war years the fact that the consumption in one year has reduced the stocks of europe to the absolute minimum with which those countries can carry on business and has wiped out all the governments surplus stocks with only nominal consumption in germany which has heretofore been outside of the united states the principal copper consuming nation of the world leaves the metal situation such that the only stocks available for new consumption are held by the american producers and the amount unsold is not more than sufficient to furnish a reasonable reserve considering the worlds needs |