Photo courtesy of NASA

Uses for aluminum profiles in the transportation industry cover a wide range of products, including automobiles, buses, trucks, trailers, light and heavy rail cars, mass transit vehicles, recreational vehicles, aircraft, and aerospace.

In the automotive industry, lightweight aluminum is used in electric, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to reduce their overall weight. In conventional vehicles, aluminum also reduces weight to minimize fuel consumption

and CO2 emissions. Extruded aluminum components also improve a vehicle’s structural stiffness, because they eliminate the joints previously used to hold stamped pieces together.

A recent study by the aluminum industry estimates that aluminum use in passenger and light truck vehicles manufactured during 2006 will save roughly 16 billion gallons

of crude oil over the vehicles’ life cycle. Using aluminum components to reduce weight offers important environmental benefits that extend beyond the vehicle’s life because components may be completely recycled. Aluminum recycled content use is on the rise. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that nearly 90 percent of automotive aluminum is now recovered and recycled.

Photo courtesy of Audi.  Reprinted from AEC Buyers' Guide.

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