Hurricane Sandy to lift copper demand: Encore

Nov 15, 2012 | 10:28 AM | Barbara O'Donovan

Tags  Encore Wire, American Copper Council, Frank Bilban, copper, Hurricane Sandy, construction, Barbara O'Donovan

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Sandy will boost the construction sector and increase demand for Encore Wire Corp.’s copper products, chief financial officer and vice president Frank Bilban told AMM.

"In construction, in general, obviously (in the) short term Sandy is going to provide a pop," he said on the sidelines of the American Copper Council fall meeting in Fort Lauderdale. "There is going to be a lot of repair, a lot of remodeling and some rebuilding."

The hurricane that hit the East Coast Oct. 29 left thousands without power and destroyed and damaged homes in New York and New Jersey.

"So we are hoping that over the next one to two years that, while Sandy’s victims are certainly in our hearts and minds, from a business perspective for construction materials it should be positive," he said. "They claim there’s 250,000 cars destroyed—that’s a boost to the car industry. No matter how you look at it, long term it’s going to create consumption. And long term could be next year; it could be longer." ....