Nothing glisters

Falling metal prices cripple the scrap industryCALL it an instance of the butterfly effect. The thieves who sawed through the bleachers at Kenwood High School, in east Baltimore, and sold them for scrap did not know they were working for contractors in Sao Paulo and Shanghai, but they were. A spike in metal prices from 2003 through the first half of 2008fuelled by a building boom in emerging markets, especially in the BRIC countrieshave led metal thefts in Baltimore County to increase by as much as 1,195% since 2005. As those economies have cooled, however, demand and metal prices have both plunged. Good news for spectators of high-school sports, but awful for the scrap industry.The scrap-metal trade exists across the country. Any activity that uses metal generates scrap, and scrap can be recycled for a variety of uses: it goes into 60% of all metals and alloys produced in America. Baltimore is blessed with excellent water and rail access (great for sending scrap onward, or overseas) and a strong manufacturing tradition, both factors that have led to an old and diverse scrap industry in the city.