“
Fracking is forecast to consume approximately 60 million tons of sand a year. Prior to this recent surge in demand, the entire industrial sand market was roughly 30 million tons.”
Looking into Sand’s Crystal Ball
Barring significant economic
unrest, the supply and pricing of metalcasting sand should remain fairly stable in the next few years, meaning metal casting end users should remain unaffected. That being said, the possibility for a crisis in metalcasters’ sand supply is not zero, though many would argue it is remote. The biggest threat would be a massive surge in demand for fracking sands, which, considering the growth in sand capacity in recent years, remains unlikely. Predictably, the further one
looks ahead, the more uncertain the market appears. Many analysts expect natural gas and oil prices to increase around the turn of the next decade, making sand for frack- ing a more valuable commodity. If the price diff erence between frack- ing sand and metalcasting sand becomes sizeable enough, suppli- ers may migrate toward the more lucrative market. Since the advent of the fracking
boom, the relationships between metalcasters and sand suppliers have grown a bit closer. Metalcasters (and their customers) can avoid problems in their sand supply by getting to know their suppliers. T at way, they get a sense of the supplier’s dedica- tion to the metalcasting market and whether it will be tempted by the fracking industry if prices reach a certain point. Metalcasting will be around for
a long time—as long as there is a need for manufacturing. Many sand suppliers understand it is a stable market that represents a decent volume of material. T e number of customers for the material is healthy, so a supplier is able to diversify its customer base by dealing with the metalcasting industry.
Silica sand pricing has increased as a whole, though the large majority of that increase is due to sand for fracking.
Investment Casting Aluminum, Brass, Bronze & Al / SiC Metal Matrix Composite Alloys
“American Foundry Society / Metal Casting Design & Purchasing
2013 Casting of the Year”
Aluminum • Brass • Bronze • AI/SiC MMC • Turnkey Machining • Rapid Prototypes 600 Cannonball Lane O’Fallon, MO 63366
(636)272-6176
http://ofalloncasting.com
Nov/Dec 2014 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 39
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