<article><p class="lead">Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf ordered last night a shut down of all "non-life-sustaining" businesses in the state, closing all physical operations at foundries, metal fabricators and some producers and processors of nonferrous metals in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.</p><p>The order has caused mass confusion throughout the industry due to a lack of details regarding specifics about whether metal recyclers are classified as essential businesses.</p><p>"The federal guidelines and some state guidelines, including Pennsylvania, on what is considered an essential business remain unclear and are creating confusion throughout the supply chain," US trade group the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) told <i>Argus</i>.</p><p>The notice left the industry scrambling to learn details about what the temporary hiatus means for their businesses, creating a disjointed response.</p><p>"Scrap metal processing has never gotten its own industrial code, it's a gray area," one Pennsylvania supplier said, noting that the consensus for the time being is that the shutdown does not apply to them.</p><p>Some large recyclers have had lawyers review the order with their general counsel concluding that recycling is an essential part of the general supply chain. </p><p>Still, some mid-sized yards remained concerned over possible escalation of containment measures leaving them to be operating day-by-day and hour-to-hour. </p><p>"Most scrap dealers are exempt…Many dealers are shuttering their retail operations to not deal with the general public as much. It will really slow the flow. But many processors are staying open to keep shipping March orders," a second Pennsylvanian supplier said.</p><p>Meanwhile, foundries have had mixed reactions to notice with subjective concerns over why some their businesses were targeted over other metal businesses. Steel mills, steel re-rollers and aluminum producers are allowed to keep operating under the order.</p><p>Scrap suppliers said that some foundries have for the time being ignored the governor's call, while others were looking into the legality of the forced closure, especially as steel mills were not impacted.</p><p>Scrap suppliers and brokers who ship primarily to foundries said that each has reacted on a case-by-case basis to the state mandated shutdown.</p><p>"We're trying to figure this out. Some foundries told us they are shutting down as of close of businesses today and others are doubling down and placing more orders this week," one Pennsylvanian scrap broker said.</p><p>Suppliers in similar positions said they are still scheduling shipments this week to foundries for the time being and re-routing any cancelled shipments to foundries abiding to the order.</p><p>"No one knows what is going on," a third Pennsylvania supplier said. </p><p>More broadly, the order also halts all construction activities in the state as well as fabricated metal manufacturing, including stamping and machine shops. Those moves will greatly impact local scrap generation as well as finished metal demand.</p><p class="bylines">By Brad MacAulay</p></article>
