Show I NS N'S A STATEMENT F Ft 1 Rorer Bc c r W n bro Special t to Tn THE n EXPRESS Copper Babson Park Mass October 27 Copper Is one one of the th oldest metals ln knows known to man Unexcelled Unexcelled ed as a conductor of electricity and of heat heath it is noted also its corrosion resistance resistance- e and nd foti for forthe the ease with which it can an bot ba fabricated In any list of essen ss m copper ranks near the top It i is much h in the news today In a world which is simultaneously it its Industrial production further urther Its its services and sell rearming Domestic And Wor World d Output As recently as 40 years ago US smelter output of copper amounted to more than half bat the total output for the production in North America accounted for considerably more than that percent Five years years later in 1931 when bur economy was sinking ever deeper into depression US copper copper production dipped down downto downto to 35 percent of the world total But by 1942 it had regained some of the loss climbing back to 40 percent In tater later years the ratio has been declining again Domestic smelter production of copper in 1965 totaled only 25 percent of world output The Important point is that the US is er the dominant factor in world production though she i ts tsan an important producer Consumption Trends Copper usage has been ex cx- cx p all over the world in very recent lecent years yeats But barring l t wilt It will rise less rip idlY n the coming cje a e fh be increase in consumption will WiIl be beI by bt competition fro from I t I aluminum and other sub s but the will see good growth in copper usage generally especially in Latin America Africa j and Asia The pr present sent acutely tight su sup ply demand position in co copper coper per stems from two distinct causes 1 A series seril's of If strikes which have curtAiled production at Important mining and smelter here in the US in Chile in Rhodesia and In Zam Zam- Zam Zambia bin bia 2 the worldwide world scram scram- scramble ble Cor for copper COppel sparked by se eral several years of record automobile production and building c cn n in the US upon which h war demand has been superimposed and by a vastly increased Industrial ac- ac activity ac In Western Europe Will Prices Go Up Or Down here lIere In our country We can produce about two thirds of our copper needs The remainder must be imported and it comes chiefly from Chile Peru and Canada though some Gme sizable shipments do come in from Africa too tad B Because we import so much copper price changes on the London Metal Exchange e eare are usually reflected rather promptly in our American met Al markets Once upon a time we could get aU all the copper we needed l over and above our own production from Chile But for some years now heavier de de- de demand mand from and the will will- willingness of European us users rs to pay premium prices has attracted ted more and more Chilean an cop cop- copper per to European ports In nn an effort to stabilize prices the US copper industry has held the domestic to 36 cents per pound But Dut because of heavier 1 demand abroad road world prices are substantially above those of the US As a result result w we too must pay more for the copper we need from abroad Jl If we can prevent the Viet war from spreading any farther r and if we can achieve ia labor or peace it in the Industry then world copper prices should settle back in 1967 But when thIs happens do not look for easing fasing In the U US S list price that will likely hold at 36 cents However the higher prices we weare weare are now paying In the gray market for copper will wiil come comedown comedown down and in time the gray market itself will Wiil fade away Better BeHer Balance Ahead Present tight ratios jn in copper are temporary range Long programs for UPI upp ing ng mine and smelter production tion of the red metal have been under way for some years The opening of new mines is a slow o process entailing costly construction and development work work and sometimes er er- er erection of sizable transportation facilities But within the next five years free world copper output may well be nearly 40 percent larger than It is now hence nen e a much better supply balance lies ahead Add Added d output should spur III ap- ap research In the corn com ing five years eaf copper usage in inthe inthe the desalination of water should Increase tremendously And the initial success of copper as a material for use in sheathing wharf pilings gives promise of other Important new uses for I this metal meta |