Industry Forecast


exploration and production will pick up by year end, most are predicting that 2017 sales will be flat in comparison to 2016.


As previously mentioned, North American foundries are reporting 2016 Pump & Valve production to be off from 2015 levels due to the collateral effect of Oil & Gas, but not to the same degree as their Oil & Gas counterparts.


This


sector has witnessed a decline of 15% to 25% from 2015 levels, and expects to continue production at current levels through 2017. The Heavy Equipment sector has


experienced significant declines as well, with overall sector performance reflecting a 5% decline in 2016. Worst hit were the Agriculture and Heavy Truck sub-sectors. sales


declines in others, resulting in what the Investment Casting Industry is currently estimating as


an Agriculture casting


have experienced declines of 30% to 40%. Class 8 Heavy trucks took a big hit with 2016 casting declines of nearly 70%, offset by moderate growth in the first three quarters for Class 5-7 categories, resulting in overall Heavy Trucks casting declines ranging from 17% to 25%. Foundries are planning on further declines of 5% to 10% in 2017.


Orthopedic investment casting


sales continue to realize 5 to 6% rise in production. With surgeons opting for minimally invasive approaches as alternatives to conventional joint replacement procedures,


patient


discomfort and recovery time has been significantly reduced. This, combined with the aging population, has resulted in stable growth in the number of procedures performed annually. Orthopedic investment


casting


foundries expect sales to grow at 5% through 2017. Foundries manufacturing medical


devices saw a rise in production levels of 7% and dairy and food processing equipment grew at a rate of 2%. Recreational firearms also saw an increase in pre-election casting sales, largely


due to new administration


uncertainties, resulting in 8% to 10% growth over 2015 levels. Overall, market growth in advancing subsectors were offset by


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approximate 5%


decline the General Industrial sector for 2016, with an outlook of 2 to 3% growth in 2016.


Summation In summary,


Aerospace, Industrial


Gas Turbine and Automotive sectors collectively count for the majority of growth experienced in 2016, while General Industrial products exhibited an


overall decline in performance, largely due to the collateral effect of declines in Oil & Gas. Overall, it is estimated that 2016


North American investment casting sales realized approximately 6% growth from 2015 levels, achieving an estimated $5.8 billion in 2016. A more in-depth examination of the North American market will be presented at the next ICI Spring Management Meeting in Charleston, SC on May 1, 2017.


North America


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