Fig. [ ]. Source: The Survey of Current Business
It should be noted that the graph seems not to refer to the entire
consumption of refined copper. The total US refined copper shipments in
1929 equaled 1119,4 thousand short tons while according to the 1942
Statistical Abstract of the United States, the total 1929 output of
refined copper in the US minus exports was around 1,5 mln. short tons of
which around 629 thousand short tons were constituted by secondary
copper from copper scrap.11At the time, the US imported a
significant part of copper ore but exported only refined copper.
While the available sources are silent as to the source of this
discrepancy, the natural way of interpreting it is to suppose that a
significant share of businesses utilizing refined copper produced their
own secondary refined copper instead of purchasing it from third
parties.