U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2005–3145

January 2006

Aluminum Stocks in Use in Automobiles in the United States

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quantity of 

aluminum stocks in use in the United States to be 142 million 

metric tons as of 2002 (Sullivan, 2005). Stocks in use include 

the aluminum in airplanes, automobiles, bridges, buildings, 

household appliances, machinery, and many other applications 

and exclude aluminum in solid-waste facilities. Continuous use 

of aluminum through recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse 

allows stocks in use to be considered a resource in place.

This Fact Sheet compares all aluminum stocks in use 

with the aluminum contained in automobile stocks in use in 

the United States. Automobiles in use in the United States 

include domestic and imported passenger cars, sport utility 

vehicles (SUVs), trucks, light trucks, vans, and minivans in 

commercial (taxicabs and limousines), government, and private 

use. Data on vehicles with an average vehicle curb weight 

greater than 8,500 pounds are not included in the Fact Sheet. 

The curb weight (CW) is the total weight of a vehicle without 

passengers or cargo.

Aluminum has a unique combination of properties, including strength, light weight, crash-energy absorption, corrosion resistance, and high thermal and electrical conductivity; 

these qualities are highly valued by the automotive industry. 

Approximately 60 percent of the aluminum used in making new 

automobiles comes from recycled aluminum. Approximately 90 

percent of aluminum contained in retired automobiles is recovered and recycled (Aluminum Association, Inc., 2001, p. 2–5; 

Lackey, 2002, p. 14).

The automotive industry has a long history of aluminum 

use. The 1897 Clark had an aluminum crankcase, the 1903 

Gordon Bennett Napier had an aluminum cylinder block, and 

the 1904 Lanchester had an aluminum rear-axle housing unit 

(Aluminum Association, Inc., 2001, p. 3, 4). Since the 1950s, 

automakers have added aluminum to their mass-produced 

vehicles. Aluminum pistons have been standard in U.S.-made 

automobiles since 1955; by the mid-1960s, most U.S.-made 

vehicles had aluminum grilles. Aluminum bumpers were 

introduced in the early 1970s, and aluminum intake manifolds, 

in 1977. In the 1980s and 1990s, automakers used improved 

aluminum bumper reinforcements and suspension parts, drive 

shafts, engine blocks and cylinder heads, steering shafts, and 

wheels, along with hoods and trunk lids. Aluminum has become 

the metal of choice for many manufacturers of automobile body 

mainframes, underbody frames, and body panels (Aluminum 

Association, Inc., 2001, p. 2–5). As aluminum was in competition with other automobile materials, it secured some market 

niches and lost others.

During the past 30 to 35 years, the use of aluminum in 

automobiles has increased in terms of (1) the average amount 

by weight used per vehicle and (2) aluminum’s percentage of 

the average vehicle curb weight (table 1). From 1970 through 

2001, the number of automobiles in use increased by more than 

120 percent, and the estimated average aluminum content per 

vehicle increased by more than 260 percent (table 2). Figure 

1 compares aluminum stocks contained in automobiles in use 

with all aluminum stocks in use and the average curb weight

of automobiles in the United States for the years 1970 through 

2001. 

In 1970, the average aluminum content per vehicle was 

about 53.3 pounds, 98.1 million vehicles were in use, and the 

aluminum stocks in use within automobiles in the United States 

were about 2.4 million metric tons (2.4 Mt), which were about 

5.9 percent of all aluminum stocks in use (40.2 Mt). During the 

next 31 years, the aluminum contained in automobile stocks 

in use increased to about 19.1 Mt, which was about 14 percent 

of all aluminum stocks in use (139 Mt). The average aluminum content of automobiles in use in 2001 increased to about 

195 pounds per vehicle. The average CW of an automobile 

decreased to about 3,150 pounds in model year 2001 from 3,620 

pounds in 1970 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2005b). 

Concerns about automobile exhaust emissions and fuel 

efficiency led to emission controls (Clean Air Act, enacted in 

1970) and increased mileage-per-gallon standards expressed 

as corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards (Energy 

Policy Conservation Act, enacted in 1975). First established 

in 1978, fuel-efficiency requirements have been changed since 

then in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, and 1990 (NHTSA, 

2005a). As CAFE and emission laws became more stringent in 

the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, automakers needed to 

improve fuel economy. This goal was achieved in part by reducTable 1. Aluminum content of automobiles built in the United States, averaged for selected model years.

[CW, curb weight of automobile. Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005b; Naidu S. Madhu, Ducker Research Company, oral and written commun., April 5, 2005]

Auto weight and aluminum content Model year

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2004

Average CW, in pounds....................................... 3,620 3,730 2,870 2,870 2,910 3,050 3,130 3,150 3,240

Average aluminum content per vehicle, 

in pounds........................................................... 82.2 84.0 120 139 165 212 258 265 289

Average aluminum content per vehicle, as a 

percentage of average CW................................ 2.3 2.3 4.2 4.8 5.7 7.0 8.2 8.4 8.9
ing the weight of the automobile by substituting aluminum and 

plastics for steel. 

In the 1990s, demand increased for larger vehicles such 

as vans, minivans, SUVs, trucks, and light trucks. To keep the 

increased average CW of these larger automobiles to a minimum, manufacturers used more aluminum. The average CW 

decreased from 3,620 pounds in model year 1970 to a low of 

2,870 pounds in the early and middle 1980s and then gradually 

rose to 3,240 pounds in model year 2004 (table 1). The quantity 

of aluminum stocks within automobiles in use increased steadily 

from 1970 through 2001 (table 2). The trend of increasing use 

of aluminum in automobiles is expected to continue through the 

decade.

By David A. Buckingham

References Cited

Aluminum Association, Inc., 2001, Aluminum—The corrosion resistant 

automotive material: Aluminum Association, Inc., Publication AT7, 24 p., 

available online at http://www.autoaluminum.org/downloads/corpub.pdf. 

(Accessed April 22, 2005.)

Davis, S.C., 1997, Transportation energy data book; Edition 17: Oak Ridge, 

Tenn., Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Transportation Analysis, 

Energy Division, 280 p., available online at http://www.ntl.bts.gov/lib/5000/

5800/5844/17th_edition/tedb17.pdf. (Accessed May 23, 2005.)

Davis, S.C., and Diegel, S.W., 2004, Transportation energy data book; Edition 

24: Oak Ridge, Tenn., Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Transportation Analysis, Engineering Science & Technology Division, 348 p., 

available online at http://cta.ornl.gov/data/index.shtml. (Accessed December 

5, 2005.) 

Lackey, Brent, 2002, The aluminum industry in Kentucky: Frankfort, Ky., Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Division of Research, 29 p. 

 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005a, CAFE overview—Frequently asked questions: available online at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/

rules/CAFE/overview.htm. (Accessed April 29, 2005.)

 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005b, New passenger car 

fleet average characteristics and Historical passenger car fleet average characteristics: available online at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/NewPassengerCarfleet.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/

HistoricalCarfleet.htm. (Accessed December 5, 2005.)

Sullivan, D.E., 2005, Metal stocks in use in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005–3090, 2 p., available online at http://pubs.usgs.

gov/fs/2005/3090. (Accessed December 5, 2005.)

Ward’s Communication, 1982–2002 (selected years), Ward’s automotive yearbook: Southfield, Mich., 1982, 247 p.; 1987, 264 p.; 2002, 350 p.

For more information, please contact:

David A. Buckingham, U.S. Geological Survey

Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, MS 750

Denver, CO 80225–0046

Telephone: 303–236–8747, ext. 239

E-mail: buckingh@usgs.gov

Table 2. Automobiles in use and aluminum stocks in use in automobiles and all applications in the United States, averaged for selected years.

[Mt, million metric tons; each metric ton equals 2,204.6 pounds. Sources: Ward’s Communication, 1982, p. 121; 1987, p. 147; 2002, p. 227; J.F. Lemons, Jr., U.S. 

Bureau of Mines, written commun., 1989; Davis, 1997, p. 3–7; Davis and Diegel, 2004, p. 3–5; Sullivan, 2005; D.A. Kramer, U.S. Geological Survey, oral and written 

commun., January 25, 2005; The Polk Company, oral commun., April 4, 2005; Naidu S. Madhu, Ducker Research Company, oral and written commun., April 5, 2005]

Autos and aluminum stocks

Calendar year

Mid1960s 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001

Automobiles in use, in millions of units.... 90.6 98.1 120 140 157 179 193 213 217

Average aluminum content per vehicle in 

use, in pounds.......................................... 51.0 53.3 67.9 80.5 108 130 153 187 195

Aluminum stocks contained within 

automobiles in use, in Mt........................ 2.1 2.4 3.7 5.1 7.7 10.6 13.5 18.1 19.1

All aluminum stocks in use, in Mt.............. 22.4 40.2 55.9 72.1 86.4 100 115 135 139

Aluminum stocks contained within automobiles in use, as a percentage of all 

aluminum stocks in use........................... 9.3 5.9 6.6 7.1 8.9 10.6 11.7 13.4 13.8

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

ALUMINUM STOCKS IN USE, IN

MILLIONS OF METRIC TONS

AVERAGE VEHICLE CURB

WEIGHT, IN POUNDS

Vehicle curb weight

Total aluminum

stocks in use

Aluminum stocks contained 

in non-automotive uses

Aluminum stocks contained in automobiles in use

YEAR

2000

2001

Figure 1. Comparison of aluminum stocks in use contained in 

automobiles in use with all aluminum stocks in use and the average 

vehicle curb weight in the United States for the years 1970 through 

2001. Sources: Ward’s Communication, 1982, p. 121; 1987, p. 147; 

2002, p. 227; Davis, 1997, p. 3–7; Davis and Diegel, 2004, p. 3–5; 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005b; Sullivan, 

2005; The Polk Company, oral commun., April 4, 2005.