The aluminum and steel industries in the US have welcomed the infrastructure spending bill unveiled by the Biden administration on Wednesday.
This $1tn American Jobs Plan will encourage public domestic investments to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and create more jobs, according to a Fact Sheet shared by the White House on Mar 31.
It includes modernizing 20,000 miles of highways, roads, and streets across the US, upgrading ports, airports, and mass transit systems, renewing the electric grid, encouraging clean fuel and electric vehicles, and providing high-speed internet in rural areas.
Building and preserving more than two million homes and commercial buildings and modernizing schools and child care facilities are also a part of this plan that aims to increase jobs and raise wages through infrastructure spending, especially for essential workers, the fact sheet noted.
According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the plan which will build the country’s roads, bridges, and highways using Made in America steel will greatly benefit the domestic steel industry. Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer, AISI said that every $1bn in infrastructure would require around 50,000nt of steel and each $1tn investment could create 11 million jobs across the US.
This plan would also benefit the aluminum industry, according to Tom Dobbins, president of the Aluminum Association, as the metal is extensively used in electric grids and EV charging stations, the construction industry, and in creating solar panels. He added that the plan would also help in modernizing the country’s aluminum recycling infrastructure, which would then strengthen the domestic supply chains.