Week in Review: Recycling bills, EV growing pains and more

More than 60 trade associations, corporations and NGOs sent a letter to congressional leaders calling for passage of two recycling bills before the end of the year. The Recycling Infrastructure Accessibility Act (RIAA) and the Recycling Composting Accountability Act (RCAA) have both progressed through the Senate. One bill proposes a pilot program to boost recycling access in underserved and rural areas. The other seeks to establish guidelines for tracking recycling and composting.

In October, new EU car registrations reversed their decline, recording a modest 1.1% increase versus last year, ACEA reported. According to our parent company, CRU Group, registrations of battery-electric cars rose by 2.4% to 124,907 units in October. However, year-to-date market volume remained 4.9% lower than the same period last year, with the total market share at 14.4%. Autos, of course, are both sources and users of scrap, so it’s worth following trends in vehicles.

Speaking of electric vehicles, Marketplace has an interesting piece on the growing pains the EV market is experiencing, both here and abroad.

Pittsburgh-based Alcoa has joined the World Economic Forum’s First Suppliers Hub, a group of suppliers providing materials needed to support industrial decarbonization by 2050. Members aim for a minimum of 10% of their annual primary aluminum procurement volumes align with or exceed the coalition’s criteria for low-carbon primary aluminum

The drama over the proposed acquisition of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon is still playing out. This week, Nippon Steel Vice Chairman and EVP Takahiro Mori met with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, according to a report in Bloomberg. Mori intended to to discuss the ramifications of Nippon’s deal, as well as its effect on unions. (The United Steelworkers union has been vehemently opposed to the merger.) Our sister publication, Steel Market Update, has more.

Bloomberg reported that US business activity is expanding at the fastest pace since April 2022 and the demand outlook has brightened in anticipation of incoming Trump administration policies. While driven largely by faster growth in services activity, manufacturers were the most upbeat about production over the coming year since April 2022, Bloomberg said.

Next week will be a little off-kilter with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Happy Turkey Day!

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