(Note: Respondents may use both.) Of the 100 million tons of sand in use annually, met-
alcasters only purchase somewhere between five and six million tons, meaning much of the supply is reused for an extended period of time through many production cycles. Still, considering the ubiquity of sand in metalcasting opera- tions, both for producing cores and molds, issues related to supply and demand could significantly impact the industry’s ability to produce timely, cost-effective components, and supply shortages in the U.S. could lead to a search for ad- ditional sand sources worldwide.
The Recession & Fracking Boom Te recession of 2008-2009 resulted in a considerable
decline in metalcasting production, leading to facilities con- suming less sand. During this economic downturn, however, the oil and gas industry experienced a significant boom in fracking, thanks in part to technological advancements in horizontal drilling. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a drilling process that uses silica sand to fracture subterranean rock to release previously unavailable oil and gas reserves. Fuel suppliers pump a slurry, which includes silica sand, into wells at high pressure. Fracking is forecast to consume approximately 60 million
tons of sand a year by 2017. Prior to this recent surge in demand, the entire industrial sand market was roughly 30 million tons. Te metalcasting industry is the third larg- est consumer of sand at roughly five million tons per year, slightly behind the consumption of glass producers. With the fracking boom in full swing during the met-
alcasting industry’s recovery from the recession in 2010- 2011, the sand market went through a turbulent period. When the glass and metalcasting industries exited the reces- sion looking to increase consumption, the fracking industry already had purchased much of the available capacity. Tere was a real shortage for many metalcasters because major sand producers were running at or near capacity. But metalcasters were able to procure the necessary sand
as the production of fracking sands boomed. Suppliers who had long serviced the metalcasting industry were able to
这1亿吨砂中，铸造企业购买的只有500-600万 吨，也就是说大部分砂来源于回用砂。此外，考虑到 砂子在铸造中的广泛使用，包括生产砂芯和砂型，砂 子供求相关的问题将对行业的生产效率及成本效益产 生很大影响。
经济衰退和水力压裂市场的激增
2008-2009年的经济衰退，导致铸件产量急剧下 降，使砂子的使用减少。然而，在此期间，石油天然 气行业经历了由水力压裂技术带来的快速发展阶段， 这要部分归功于水平钻井技术的进步。水力压裂或称 为液压破碎技术，是使用硅砂来破碎地下岩层的钻井 技术，从而钻探出以前无法开采的石油和天然气。石 油开采商在高压下将含有硅砂的泥浆泵入钻井中。 到2017年，水力压裂市场预计每年约消耗6000万 吨砂子。在此之前，整个工业用砂市场只有约3000 万吨。铸造业是工业用砂的第三大消费行业，每年约 消耗500万吨，与排名第二的玻璃行业仅有微小的差 距。
铸造行业已从2010-2011年的经济衰退中逐渐恢 复，水力压裂市场需求强劲，工业用砂行业在此期间 经历了动荡期。目前，玻璃和铸造行业走出了经济衰 退，砂子使用量增加，而水力压裂行业已经获得大部 分可用的砂子。由于主要的供砂企业已经达到或接近 最大产能，铸造行业面临着用砂短缺。 虽然水力压裂市场的用砂不断增长，铸造企业仍可 以获得所需的砂子。长期给铸造行业供砂的企业适当
Table 1. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks the price index (with the 1982 price as 100) on a monthly basis, shows the dramatic jump in price in 2011 followed by two years of relative stability.
根据美国劳工部对 每月价格指数变化 的跟踪（1982年 价格指数为100） ，砂子价格经过 两年的相对稳定 后，2011年大幅 上涨。
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FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION December 2014
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