Overall 'Soft Landing' Continues.A preliminary analysis of the interviews being conducted with casting users for the 2001 forecast validates that the previously forecast slowdown For articles with similar titles, see Slow Down (disambiguation). A slowdown is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. will likely result in a 4.7% loss in casting shipments after 9 consecutive years of expansion (Table 1). The slowdown experienced in the first 6 months of 2000 in most casting market sectors is expected to continue into '01. Though sales of passenger cars and light trucks kept pace with last year and have actually grown slightly in the first half of '00, high inventories have resulted and plant idlings are planned in the second half. A 4.6% loss in production of light vehicles is likely, thus reducing casting demand. Many production foundries, however, are forecast to continue to operate at high utilization utilization, n 1. the extent to which a given group uses a particular service in a specified period. Although usually expressed as the number of services used per year per 100 or per 1000 persons eligible for the service, utilization rates may be rates into '01. Housing starts have begun to feel the increase in interest rates and declined in the first half, enforcing the 2% forecast decline in '00, followed by a continued decline of 1% in '01. Casting imports from Asian and NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's nations continue to increase and are affecting shipments from U.S. foundries despite high demand in some market sectors. Gray Iron Shipments of gray iron castings are forecast to decline 5% to 5.6 million tons (Transparent Optical Networking Services) A marketing term for providing dark fiber to a customer. The customer is responsible for generating the transmission signal and interpreting it at the other end. See dark fiber. in '00. Motor Vehicles--Gray iron casting shipments for light vehicles are expected to drop to 1.6 million tons, as the weight per light vehicle shrinks to 280 lb based on the continued conversion of iron blocks and heads to aluminum. Shipments of light trucks are again expected to reach 55% of the total light vehicle production, keeping the weight per vehicle relatively high. Based on the increased conversion to aluminum over the next 5 years, gray iron's application per vehicle is expected to drop below 200 lb. The forecasted reduction in medium-to-heavy truck production in '00 should reduce casting shipments to this market sector to 139,000 tons, representing a 15% reduction from the peak production in '99. Diesel Engines--Though engine production has remained high in the construction machinery sector, diesel engine demand has been reduced, due to the decline of truck/tractor production. A decline in gray iron casting shipments of 8% is expected this year. Construction Machinery & Equipment--Based on a forecasted increase in exports this year, construction machinery production is expected to increase 1% despite a decrease in construction activity. Iron casting production for heavy off-road off-road adj. Existing, taking place, or designed for use off paved or public roads or in rugged terrain: off-road sports such as snowmobiling. equipment is expected to rise again this year. Machine Tools--Though the first 6 months of '00 yielded a slight rebound rebound (rē´bownd), n/v 1. a recovery from illness. n 2. an outbreak of fresh reflex activity after withdrawal of a stimulus rebound adjective in U.S. machine tool shipments, gray iron foundries supplying this market sector continue to experience a slowdown in sales. The rebound is expected to continue into '01 and offer an increase in demand for iron castings. Special Industry Machinery--A second straight year of decline is expected for most market sectors in the special industry machinery classification. Casting production in '00 is expected to decline another 2%, followed by a continued slowdown in '01. Pumps & Compressors--A loss in iron casting shipments of up to 4% is expected in '00, though the closing of some captive captive said of naturally wild or feral animals kept in captivity for educational and scientific investigation with no attempt being made to domesticate them. facilities should aid some jobbing foundries that produce compressor compressor, machine that decreases the volume of air or other gas by the application of pressure. Compressor types range from the simple hand pump and the piston-equipped compressor used to inflate tires to machines that use a rotating, bladed element to achieve parts. Ductile Iron Ductile iron, also called ductile cast iron or nodular cast iron, is a type of cast iron invented in 1943 by Keith Millis[1]. While most varieties of cast iron are brittle, ductile iron is much more ductile, as the name implies. Shipments of ductile iron castings are expected to decline 2.5% this year from last year's high to 4.27 million tons. However, production levels are consistent with the peak levels seen from '94-'98. Motor Vehicles--Spurred by the high production of light trucks and vans, ductile iron usage has jumped to 190 lb/vehicle. This figure, however, is expected to begin dropping back to the 170-lb level due to the loss of some crankshaft applications to steel forgings in aluminum engines, and suspension parts converted to aluminum. A 2% drop in ductile iron usage in light vehicles is forecast for this year (to 1.134 million tons). Consumption in medium-to-heavy trucks is also expected to decline to 230,000 tons as truck production slips. Pipe--Ductile iron shipments of pressure pipe are again expected to exceed 1.8 million tons, though a 1% drop is expected from '99 levels. The closing of a Canadian Canadian (kənā`dēən), river, 906 mi (1,458 km) long, rising in NE New Mexico. and flowing E across N Texas and central Oklahoma into the Arkansas River in E Oklahoma. plant and increased exports is expected to keep plant utilization levels high. Valves & Fittings--Despite pressures from rising imports (growing at an annual rate of nearly 4%), shipments of ductile iron castings should decline by just 2% this year to 225,000 tons and 2% in 01 as housing starts drop. Farm Machinery--Shipments of farm machinery dropped more than 30% last year, and an additional 5% is expected this year. This was caused by a falloff fall·off n. A reduction or decrease: a falloff in car sales. Noun 1. falloff - a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality; "the team went into a slump"; "a gradual slack in in domestic demand as well as a loss in exports to Asian countries Noun 1. Asian country - any one of the nations occupying the Asian continent Asian nation country, land, state - the territory occupied by a nation; "he returned to the land of his birth"; "he visited several European countries" . Ductile iron casting shipments declined from a high of 133,000 tons in '98 to 100,000 in '99, and are expected to drop further to 97,000 tons this year. Construction Machinery & Oil Field Equipment--An increase in demand for construction machinery and for equipment used for oilfield drilling has spurred ductile iron growth. Despite the forecasted drop in construction activity in '00-'0 1, ductile iron usage for the construction machinery and oilfield equipment markets should grow by annual rates of 2% and 8-10%, respectively. Steel Shipments of steel castings Steel casting is a manufacturing process in which molten metal is poured into a mold, allowed to solidify within the mold, and then the mold is broken and the solid piece is taken out. are forecast to fall off 8.7% this year to 1.212 million tons. Railroad--After two years of peak shipments, a drop of 14,000 freight The price or compensation paid for the transportation of goods by a carrier. Freight is also applied to the goods transported by such carriers. The liability of a carrier for freight damaged, lost, or destroyed during shipment is determined by contract, statute, or car deliveries is forecast this year, reducing steel casting consumption in the this market to 110,000 tons following the peak year in '99. A further decline of 7.7% is forecast for '01. Mining Machinery & Equipment--After declining 5% in '99, the mining industry is expected to rebound at a rate of 5% per year in '00-'01. Growth is expected to continue and lead to record-level steel casting shipments of 100,000 tons per year by '05. Trucks--Steel casting shipments are forecast to decline 90,000 tons in '00 as production of medium to heavy trucks decrease from a peak level in 1999. Aluminum Shipments of aluminum castings peaked last year at 2 million tons and are expected to top that mark again in '00. Aluminum die casting die casting Forming metal objects by injecting molten metal under pressure into dies or molds. An early and important use of the technique was in the Linotype machine (1884), but the mass-production automobile assembly line gave die casting its real impetus. shipments are also expected to repeat last year's record of 1.2 million tons. Motor Vehicles--Aluminum casting weight a weight that turns a balance when exactly poised. - B. Trumbull. See also: Casting per vehicle passed 200 lb in '00 and is expected to grow to 250 lb within the next 5 years. |
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