ITA requires a subscription to an online database of information on steel, aluminum, and copper production in specific facilities, companies, and countries, and provides detailed plant-level information to include cost drivers, production numbers, power usage, ownership information and technical parameters, allowing ITA to analyze U.S. facilities compared to other global facilities. Also required is an asset platform to allow the user to use the data to develop comparisons between facilities and regions to allow ITA to obtain an accurate representation of trends across these commodities in terms of granular costs of production by asset and by country. The CRU Asset Tool has become invaluable resources in several projects that require detailed company level/facility level information. The projects and portfolios below each explain how these tools are used by IMAU daily. These projects/dashboards include the Aluminum Country of Smelt Dashboard, Steel Melt and Pour Dashboard, Steel Executive Summary Report, Steel Country Reports, Steel and Aluminum Scrap Monitor, aluminum facility monitoring, steel related taskers, and IMAU Weekly Facts and Figures. Additional forthcoming project
on copper import monitoring and global copper trade will rely heavily on CRU data. There are not comparable sources of information that are unified, comprehensive, direct-access, user-friendly or allow for standardized, transparent and global
comparisons. When finalizing paperwork associated with this contract, we received comments from 4 independent associations (the American Iron and Steel Institute, the OECD Steel Committee, the Aluminum Association, and the International Aluminum Institute.) each of whom attested to the quality of the CRU and the lack of real competition. See attached file.
Available