Analyse Edexcel IAL Economics supply shifts by linking production costs, technology, weather and policy factors to output, price, surplus and profits.
Sources for use with Section C
The markets for copper, electricity and battery electric buses (BEBs)
Figure 1 World price of copper, $ per metric tonne, March 2020 to December 2020
Extract A Copper prices rise
Between May and December 2020 the world price of copper increased significantly. Speculators expected the global rate of economic growth to recover from the global health crisis and started to buy more copper. In addition, the Chinese Government made a substantial investment in infrastructure that required copper. Output of electric vehicles also increased. Each vehicle requires approximately 59 kg of copper in its production. Most plumbers prefer to use copper pipes rather than plastic pipes. With the increased demand for copper for other purposes, it is likely that the price of copper pipes will increase significantly in the future.
Figure 2 Electricity generation by different sources in Denmark, 2018
Extract B Battery electric buses (BEBs)
Diesel buses are used in city locations with large concentrations of people. They create external costs, including reducing air quality. Children who ride the bus to school are more likely to develop respiratory diseases, such as asthma, and to have higher rates of cancer.
BEBs are powered by electric batteries that run an electric motor. Bus batteries are recharged using the national electricity grid. BEBs do not have engines that use fossil fuels. Therefore, BEBs help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution in city centres. They also produce much less noise pollution than diesel buses.
In 2018 the price of a diesel bus was $480 000, whereas the price of a BEB was $887 000. This price difference has started to decrease. For a transport company, it is 2.5 times cheaper to run a BEB than a diesel bus. The maintenance costs are also far lower for a BEB as there are fewer component parts within the motor. On average, a BEB can travel 150 miles on a fully charged battery, whereas a diesel bus can travel 690 miles on a full tank of diesel.
In 2018 there were 386 000 BEBs globally. 99% of these were in China and 0.09% were in the USA. In response, the US Government allocated $979 million of subsidies to increase the number of BEBs.
With reference to Extract A, examine two likely effects of an increase in the price of copper on plumbing firms that replace water pipes in customers' homes.