Agricultural equipment. (Casting Market Focus).

Editor's Note: This is the first installment of the new "Casting Market Focus" standing feature, which was launched to shed light on dynamics within specific casting markets while sampling recent casting successes. All shipment trends data is provided by Stratecasts, Inc., Ft. Myers, Florida. Casting examples appeared previously in Engineered casting Solutions, AFS' magazine for casting designers and buyers.

It's been said there are three ways to obtain true wealth: you can grow it, mine it or manufacture it. Castings, in particular, have long had an integral role in advancing the interests of agriculture. Even today, agricultural machinery remains the seventh-largest market for U.S. metal castings.

Agriculture continues to evolve with changes in technology and consumer demands, Instrumental changes of the past decade include the sharp decrease in the use of moldboard plows, larger horsepower tractors, wider tillage tools, fewer farmers working much larger acreage, a move toward bioengineered crops and growing concerns about global warming. Farmers are searching to reduce the number of passes required over their field, and conservation tillage farming systems (including no-tillage) have grown in acceptance. This trend toward environmentally friendly conservation tillage practices also reduce machinery, fuel and labor costs for farmers as they try to survive reduced food commodity prices.

Metalcasters committed to the long-term supply of farm machinery manufacturers are wise to keep abreast of these and other trends and how castings can help achieve manufacturers' objectives.

The Market

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code 331111 (formerly SIC 352) is composed of firms primarily engaged in manufacturing for farm machinery. Major products in this industry include wheel tractors, planters, fertilizers, tillage equipment, sprayers, irrigation equipment, harvesting machinery, haying/mowing equipment and livestock equipment. Companies included in this sector include Deere & Co., Case New Holland and AGCO, to name a few.

After six years of growth in farm machinery sales (including a 20% increase in 1994), farm machinery sales fell 30% in 1999. This severe dropoff in machinery sales was the result of a confluence of factors, including excess inventories, very low crop commodity and livestock prices, low equipment exports and higher interest rates. While the industry has not yet rebounded to the high levels recorded in 1997-98, farm machinery sales are forecast to increase 5% this year and grow annually at a rate of 2.8% over the next 10 years.

Exports play a large role in farm machinery sales, and recent years have seen as much as 25% of the total sales exported. Primary export markets are Australia, Germany and Mexico.

While agriculture manufacturers have recently hit a tough spell, Stratecasts estimates that farm machinery still represents a $17.6 billion industry, and that nearly 160,000 farm tractors will be sold in the U.S. this year--nearly a 4% increase over 2001.

Casting Supply

According to the Casting Source Directory, nearly 800 foundries in the U.S. and Canada supply this industry sector. With the falloff of the market in 1999, casting shipments suffered significantly. Despite increases over each of the last three years, iron casting shipments still remain 19% below 1998's demand.

In terms of iron alone, farm machinery represents a $500 million market for castings, with diverse applications such as tractors, planters, drills, fertilizer applicators, tillage equipment, agricultural sprayers, irrigation equipment, harvesting machinery, haying/mowing equipment and livestock equipment.

Despite the fact that imports have increased (16% for iron castings consumed by this sector), favorable growth is expected over the long-term as the overall machinery demand increases from its recent doldrums.

While cast steel and aluminum each contribute about 5000 tons annually to farm machinery (aluminum's tonnage penetration is growing 3.4% annually over the next 10 years) iron is the most widely used metal, and will be examined below.

Gray Iron

The majority of the farm machinery casting shipments are gray iron (about 360,000 tons total), with key applications such as ballast weights, flywheels, transmission cases, clutch housings, axle housings, gear boxes, clutch plates, hubs and transmission gears. Of gray iron castings, about 54% of the tonnage is used in tractors and combines. This is followed by ballast weights (22%), planting (7%), harvesting (6%), harrows (6%), haying (4%) and plows (1%.) About 50,000 tons of gray iron castings are classified as engine castings. This includes blocks/heads, cylinder liners, flywheels, oil pump housings, camshafts, clutch housings and others that are used in farm equipment.

The table on p. 33 shows the overall demand conditions this year for both gray and ductile iron. Despite the fact that ductile iron will continue to replace some components, an annual growth rate of 1.9% is forecast for gray iron over the next 10 years as equipment sales increase from 2001's low base year. Most of the demand for gray iron farm castings is in the 150-300 lb (36%) and 0-50 lb (29%) ranges.

Ductile Iron

Overall demand conditions for ductile iron this year are also shown in the table. Currently at about 127,000 tons (includes 10,000 tons of "engine castings," including camshafts, exhaust manifolds, rocker shafts, bearing caps, etc.), ductile iron shipments are returning to 1998 peak levels at a faster rate than gray iron.

Ductile iron is expected to continue to replace malleable iron, gray iron and steel. Shipments should increase about 3% per year over the next 10 years, while the sales value of the castings should increase about 4.9% annually. Most of the demand is in the 0-50 lb range (40%) and 50-150 range (24%). MC

Next Casting Market Focus: Railroad Equipment.

For a free copy of this article circle No. 342 on the Reader Action Card.

For More Information

"Shipments to Rebound 3% in '02, Begin Healthy Expansion," K.H. Kirgin, p. 24-28, MODERN CASTING, (January 2002).

AFS Metalcasting Forecast & Trends 2002, AFS, Des Plaines, IL, (2002).

Demand and Supply Forecast for Metal Castings 2002, Volumes 1 and 2, Stratecasts, Inc. (October 2001).

Subsoil Points for No-Tillage Equipment

Previously, tools used in the evolving no-till agricultural method featured weldment points that were costly to produce and use, bulky and hard to pull and inefficient in ground fracture and soil disturbance properties. By replacing the weldment assembly with an A532 chrome wear-resistance casting, Tonkawa Foundry, Tonkawa, Oklahoma, delivered a number of benefits to the manufacturer and end-user alike. The direct savings to the user stand out in lower operating costs per acre as a result of fewer replacement parts (a 40% improvement in component life was achieved), lower fuel usage and tire wear, and increased performance. Manufacturers report that the high-chrome wear-resistant castings offer greater dimensional accuracy, higher production rates and better performance than fabricated points.

Air Scoop for a Combine

Originally manufactured as a stamping and weldment, this 25-lb component (used to direct airflow on a combine) was converted to a ductile iron casting by Neenah Foundry, Neenah, Wisconsin. Pictured is the green sand casting (top) and the previous stamping/weldment (bottom). Due to a simpler design that eliminated the need for capital resources and manpower for extensive stamping and welding equipment, the customer realized a 40% cost savings. This component received an honorable mention in the 2001 AFS Marketing Div./Engineered Casting Solutions Casting Contest.

Worm Shaft for an Irrigation Transmission Box

This "worm shaft" for an irrigation transmission box was formerly cast with a solid-gear blank area. By taking advantage of the vertically parted green sand casting process, Milwaukee Ductile Iron (Metal Technologies, Inc.), West Allis, Wisconsin, saw that it was possible to cast the worm teeth directly into the component. This reduced the number of machining passes from 30 to 7 and improved machining cycle times by 60%. Near-net-shape casting also provided a 22% weight reduction. By working with the customer's engineering department, the foundry helped eliminate one-half of the total machining cost on this part.

Boom Attachment

This 135-lb boom attachment part is used to attach saw heads to mobile machinery. Operated at temperatures that range from -40F to + 104F (-40C to + 40C), it must be resistant to shock and vibration conditions. Because 18 different steel plate pieces were being individually manufactured and assembled, a cast design was evaluated to simplify inventory and production costs while improving component fatigue life. Wabi Iron and Steel, New Liskeard, Ontario, made geometry modifications for nobake molding and cast the component in a low-alloy steel. Initial reports have shown a performance improvement estimated at two-fold or more. By eliminating welding and fabrication time and greatly reducing machining (the majority of holes were cored out in the cast design), the cast design offered a 30% reduction in manufacturing costs.

Brackets for a Corn Planter

The original design for these brackets called for 12 individual pieces that had to be cut to size, formed, punched and welded. These two-part brackets were green sand cast in ductile iron by Seneca Foundry, Webster City, Iowa, at a savings of $209 and nearly 5 hr per set. The cast design is sized to accurately fit the shape without machining and includes a cast-in grease slot. Both features were unattainable with the previous weldment.

Wheel Assembly Segment for Grain Wagons

This ductile iron casting (produced in green sand by Galesburg Castings, Inc., Galesburg, Illinois) is one of 12 segments of a complete 36-in. diameter track-type wheel assembly for grain wagons. Past designs used a formed wheel center with a rolled steel band welded to it, which was labor-intensive and difficult to install. The cast segment design reduced fabrication and installation costs by 25%.

Gearbox for a Tobacco Harvester

This 15-lb ductile iron gearbox (I) for a tobacco harvester replaced the steel weldment (r). In addition to a cosmetic enhancement, this green sand casting (produced by Lethbridge Iron Works Co., Ltd., Lethbridge, Alberta) provided a significant gain in dimensional accuracy and consistency (the fabrication was prone to distortion during welding) and eliminated previous oil leak problems while delivering a near-50% cost reduction.

Fertilizer Opener Arm for a Planter

The Dotson Co., Mankato, Minnesota, converted this fertilizer opener arm (used to apply fertilizer ahead of the planter row unit) from a 5-piece steel weldment to a ductile iron, green sand casting using two cores. With a per part savings of $25, the 30-lb casting provided the manufacturer with $50,000 in savings over the fabrication.

Suspension Lower Control Arm For a Tractor Independent Front Suspension

This component provides the lower link between the steering knuckle and the chassis on the new John Deere 8020 series tractor. It also serves as they lower mounting part for the suspension cylinder. These two functions combine to provide high loads in the control arm. Originally designed to be a steel forging, it became apparent that the 145-lb part could be more economically produced (in terms of both cost and capital) as an austempered ductile iron casting (cast at John Deere Foundry Waterloo, Waterloo, Iowa, and heat-treated by Applied Process Westshore, Oshkosh, Wisconsin). Benefits of the casting design included the ability to: core out three of the bores; reduce machining time and weight; make geometry changes during prototyping; and provide greater overall design flexibility, such as draft and material flow considerations. "The new front suspension system controls power-hop in the field because of greater front-weight management," said Dave Gilmore, Waterloo Tractor Works, of the independent link susp ension (ILS) system. "The ILS allows greater control and more stability on roads and highways and offers faster transport speeds."

Knotter Frame for Hay-Baling Machinery

Previously, New Holland experienced some degree of failure (breakage) in the thin sections of this component (for a hay baler). As a result, R.H. Sheppard Co., Inc., Hanover, Pennsylvania, helped convert the part to a compacted graphite iron casting (produced via green sand) to improve strength (to 50,000 psi) and durability of these sections. The conversion to the higher strength material also provided an opportunity to reduce the weight of the component to just 8.75 lb.

Spool Component for a Harvester

Cast by LA Aluminum, Hayden Lake, Idaho, this spool component used in Littau Harvester's berry-picking harvesting machines was previously machined out of solid aluminum billet. Via the permanent mold process, the spool now is cast to a near-net shape, significantly reducing machining time and the wasted machining chips.

Castings for Farm Machinery (Non-Engine)--2002

                          Gray Iron      Ductile Iron

Total Demand            316,000 tons     117,000 tons
Total U.S. Shipments    303,000 tons     115,000 tons
Imports                  57,000 tons     13,000 tons
Exports                  44,000 tons     11,000 tons
Captive                30,000 tons (*)        0
Total for Sale        330,000 tons (**)  128,000 tons
Utilization Rate:            74%             77%
Demand/Supply:               77%             78%

(*)reduced tonnage capacity for non-engine castings

(**)includes weights