Vehicle sales, housing starts spur growth in castings.Passenger cars and light truck sales continue to increase over 1992 levels, providing an immediate domestic market for iron and aluminum foundries. Slackening export sales to a recessive recessive /re·ces·sive/ (re-ses´iv) 1. tending to recede; in genetics, incapable of expression unless the responsible allele is carried by both members of a pair of homologous chromosomes. 2. European market, however, have hurt overall sales. Domestic car sales continue upward at an annual growth trend of 9% over 1992. Domestic light truck sales are forecasted to grow at a rate of 16%, while medium and heavy trucks could increase 15% over 1992. The latter has spurred growth in such casting markets as diesel engines, air conditioners Conditioners used on leather take many shapes and forms. They are used mostly to keep leather from drying out and deteriorating. A very old and widely used conditioner is dubbin. , machine tools and other industries that supply auto manufacturers. The continued recession in Japan - three consecutive years of auto sales Auto Sales The major producers of domestic automobiles report sales monthly. These numbers are seasonally adjusted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and are available to the public one to five business days after the end of each month. losses combined with the strong yen - has forced Japanese automobile and truck makers to consider supplying the U.S. market with vehicles and parts from transplants at American locations. At the same time, low interest rates have spurred a resurgence in housing starts, increasing the forecast for 1993 to 11% over 1992. Industries, such as valve and pipe fittings, centrifugal centrifugal /cen·trif·u·gal/ (sen-trif´ah-gal) efferent (1). cen·trif·u·gal adj. 1. Moving or directed away from a center or axis. 2. cast pipe, construction equipment, municipal castings and soil pipe, are affected by the increase in residential housing and are growing despite lower exports and an increasing import problem from Asiatic countries. The positive outlook for these two key markets is feeding the continued upswing Upswing An upward turn in a security's price after a period of falling prices. for metal castings Metal casting A metal-forming process whereby molten metal is poured into a cavity or mold and, when cooled, solidifies and takes on the characteristic shape of the mold. . Following is a brief rundown Rundown A summary of the amount and prices of a serial bond issue that is still available for purchase. rundown A list of available bonds in a municipal issue of serial bonds. on the status of the major cast metals groups. Aluminum Based on interviews of key personnel at domestic OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and and transplant companies, aluminum casting use will see significant growth in almost every major engine component. With this projected growth in mind, plus forecasts of other applications of cast aluminum in motor vehicles, Table 1 shows estimates of aluminum tonnage produced. Table 1. Growth in Demand for Aluminum Auto Castings in U.S., 1992-1998 1992 631,000 tons 1993 742,000 tons 1994 823,000 tons 1995 806,000 tons 1996 690,000 tons 1997 956,000 tons 1989 1,080,000 tons The improvement in housing starts has also spurred immediate growth of 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. sales in lawn and garden equipment, power hand tools, meters and regulators, household appliances, electrical and communications equipment, and in air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. compressors. Gray Iron Gray iron foundries in most market segments have recovered from the 1991 recession but have reached only marginal break-even utilization of capacity. It is forecasted that gray iron casting production is to grow to 5.7 million tons, an increase of 8% over 1992. We expect that gray iron tonnage will peak at 6 million tons in 1994 and continue to decline at a rate of 0.7% per year. Though gray iron production is forecasted to decline to a new low in the year 2001, there will be gainers in some market segments. 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. Ductile iron castings continue to replace malleable iron (Metal.) iron sufficiently pure or soft to be capable of extension under the hammer; also, specif., a kind of iron produced by removing a portion of the carbon or other impurities from cast iron, rendering it less brittle, and to some extent malleable. and 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. as well as fabrications and forgings in applications in many markets. Ferritic ductile iron has replaced cast steel truck hubs and wheels on medium to heavy trucks and other vehicles. The ferritic grade is also being used for differential carriers and axle axle Pin or shaft on or with which wheels revolve; with fixed wheels, one of the basic simple machines for amplifying force. Combined with the wheel, in its earliest form it was probably used for raising weights or water buckets from wells. housings on off-the-road equipment and tractors. Ductile iron pressure pipe, now 46% of the total ductile iron market, is forecasted to reach a peak level of 1,880,000 tons in 1994. Increases in housing starts and construction activity, coupled with increases in exports, are forecasted to increase the demand for pipe by 9% in 1994. Total ductile iron shipments in the U.S. should exceed 4 million tons in 1994 for the first time. Steel Steel foundries are slowly recovering from the 1991 recession with help from increased construction and mining activity. Despite the excess of commercial building and office space in the U.S., the construction industry began a comeback and equipment manufacturers have increased production. Exports of construction and mining equipment, which account for 25% of sales of some major manufacturers, have suffered from the continuing recessions in Europe and Asia. As these countries begin to emerge from their slump, construction activity will increase, and markets for equipment made by U.S. manufacturers will grow. The railroad freight car industry continues to consume 49% of the carbon and low-alloy steel castings produced. In 1993, 500,000 tons of steel castings are estimated to be shipped to this market. The resurgence of construction of refineries and chemical plants, coupled with the investment into new food products machinery, has also increased the demand for pressure castings made of CF3, CF8, CF8M and other corrosion-resistant alloys. Heat-resistant steels are forecasted to reach a peak of 33,000 tons in 1994 as requirements increase for heat treatment process parts. Brass and Bronze The short-term growth of brass and bronze castings is forecasted at 7% a year from 294,000 tons in 1992, to 316,000 tons in 1993, and to peak at 339,000 tons in 1994 based on growth in valves, fittings and plumbing and sanitary applications. A key growth area for bronze and brass castings lies in industrial valves and fittings. In the early 1980s, nearly 25% of the total demand in the U.S. was supplied by imports from Japan and other Asiatic countries. U.S. copper-base foundries have regained much of the loss and today are supplying 88% of the market. |
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