American Iron and Steel Institute Says Steel Sheet Remains Choice
9 September 1999
American Iron and Steel Institute Says Steel Sheet Remains Overwhelming Choice for Auto Body Structures, Closures AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE American Iron and Steel Institute Passenger Car and Light Truck Aluminum 1999 Content Breakdown by System. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] DETROIT, MI USA 09/09/1999 AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE American Iron and Steel Institute 1999 US Passenger Car and Light Truck Aluminum Content by Form. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] DETROIT, MI USA 09/09/1999 AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE American Iron and Steel Institute 1999 US Passenger Car and Light Truck Aluminum Content by Form. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] DETROIT, MI USA 09/09/1999 AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE American Iron and Steel Institute Passenger Car and Light Truck Aluminum 1999 Content Breakdown by System. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] DETROIT, MI USA 09/09/1999
Ducker Report Confirms Use of Auto Aluminum Sheet is Minimal
DETROIT, Sept. 9 -- Examination of data contained in the 1999
North American Automotive and Light Truck Aluminum Content Report published by
Ducker Research Company of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., reveals that less than two
percent of auto aluminum goes into body structures and closures. Nearly
75 percent of auto aluminum goes into drive trains and heat exchangers.
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According to the Ducker report, 61.9 percent of passenger car and light
truck aluminum content is castings for drive train components, such as engine
blocks, cylinder heads and manifolds. These applications mainly displaced
iron castings. Another 13 percent of the aluminum content of a typical North
American-built car or light truck is aluminum foil. This is largely for heat
exchangers, such as the radiator, displacing copper sheet and foil.
The remaining aluminum applications include wheels (15.7%, mostly
castings), exterior trim and interiors (4.6%), chassis and suspensions (2.6%),
bumper systems (0.4%), closure panels (1.2%), which are mostly hoods, and less
than one percent of the applications are body structures (0.7%), mostly
comprising extrusions for radiator supports.
"A common perception created by reports of growth in the use of aluminum
by vehicle makers is that aluminum sheet has made large inroads and steel body
sheet has borne the brunt of aluminum's increased penetration," said Darryl C.
Martin, senior director, Automotive Applications, American Iron and Steel
Institute.
"This is not true," said Martin. "The Ducker report plainly shows that
aluminum's growth is not due to applications in the body-in-white at the
expense of steel sheet. In fact, according to the Ducker report, of the
average of 248 pounds of aluminum in today's vehicles, less than five pounds
are related to the body." (One-half pound of structural sheet; 1.24 pounds of
extrusions; 2.9 pounds of sheet for closures)
For the 1999 model year the amount of automotive aluminum used in North
America totals 1.9 million tons (3.8 billion pounds). Almost 80 percent of
this total is castings; the remaining 20 percent is mill products including
extrusions, forgings and impact extrusions, brazing sheet and fin stock, and
plate and sheet.
"We're very mindful of the gains that aluminum has made in automotive
applications," said Martin. "But, we want to be clear that aluminum's gains
in sheet applications have been negligible and that steel sheet continues to
be vehicle makers' material of choice for body structures and closures."
The amount of automotive steel used in North America totals 13.5 million
tons, or an average of 1752 pounds per vehicle. Steel's share of an average
vehicle's curb weight is about 55 percent, a proportion that has not changed
in nearly two decades.
Reasons for steel's continuing preeminence include steel's low cost and
high strength. It is the world's most recycled metal. It is easy to handle
and form into a wide variety of complex shapes. It is an optimal material for
designing safe vehicles. And, steel sheet offers engineers the greatest
design flexibility for packaging engines, passengers and cargo.
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is a non-profit association of
North American companies engaged in the iron and steel industry. The
Institute comprises 47 member companies, including integrated and electric
furnace steelmakers, and 178 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers
to or customers of the steel industry. For a broader look at steel and its
applications, the Institute has its own website at http://www.steel.org .
The Automotive Applications Committee (AAC) is a subcommittee of the
Market Development Committee of AISI and focuses on advancing the use of steel
in the highly competitive automotive market. With offices and staff located
in Detroit, cooperation between the automobile and steel industries has been
significant to its success. This industry cooperation resulted in the
formation of the Auto/Steel Partnership, a consortium of DaimlerChrysler, Ford
and General Motors and the member companies of the AAC.
This release and the accompanying pie charts, as well as other steel-
related information are available for viewing and downloading at American Iron
and Steel Institute/Automotive Applications Committee's website at
http://www.autosteel.org .
Automotive Applications Committee member companies:
AK Steel Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Dofasco Inc.
Ispat Inland Inc.
LTV Steel Company
National Steel Corporation
Rouge Steel Company
Stelco Inc.
US Steel Group, a unit of USX Corporation
WCI Steel, Inc.
Weirton Steel Corporation