Sims closes some US ops to the public

Sims Metal Management temporarily closed some of its US facilities to the public over concerns about employee safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The global recycler, which operates 137 North American metal recycling facilities, will only accept recycling materials from its industrial and commercial customers at some west coast facilities, effective yesterday.

Sims is actively monitoring its other US locations and will roll out similar measures if necessary.

The stoppage of public buying is likely to have a larger impact on non-ferrous business as it provides a steady flow of low-margin units, compared to ferrous, where a larger percentage of volume comes from industrial accounts.

The company's move to temporarily suspend public traffic at some of its locations comes amid a growing movement throughout the industry to take similar measures.

Many US scrap dealers remained mixed on the situation, especially on taking in used aluminum beverage can (UBC) scrap due to concerns of the virus' potential staying power on surfaces and potential contamination concerns.

Steep drops in dealer scrap buying prices in the recent week as well as sweeping containment measures is also likely to take a toll on retail traffic in coming weeks.

By Brad MacAulay