The oil and gas business continues


to be very busy in drilling, transmission and refining applications. A majority of the increase in activity is directly related to the price of oil as well as the need to replenish depleted inventories. However, the negative effect of last summer’s mor- atorium on new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is still being felt. Construction tools and equipment are


still down due to the depressed residential and commercial building markets.


Automotive The good news for the automotive


industry is passenger cars are up 30-40% over last year. In 2009, the industry en- dured a full-quarter production shutdown at GM and Chrysler as they worked through Chapter 11, plant closures, dis- continued models and restructuring. A year later, production is trending toward 12 million passenger cars com-


pared with approximately 9 million last year. Reacting to continued high gaso- line prices, the industry is producing new more fuel-efficient models including ad- vanced turbocharger systems and models with direct injection engines. Additionally, automobile manufac-


turers will be introducing several new hybrids and all electric model passenger cars in 2011.


Medical Increases in the medical segment


continue without abatement. This is driv- en primarily by the increased demand for joint replacement devices. However, business is also growing in testing equip- ment, surgical instruments and injury sta- bilizing devices. Years of double-digit growth in the


medical component segment has slowed somewhat, to a more modest rate in re- cent years. However, medical products should continue to grow in parallel to


the aging population, which demands in- creased levels of health care. In summary, investment casting in


North America appears to have stabi- lized and started to grow again. The in- vestment casting market has recovered somewhat from the recession and should grow at a modest rate following a slowly improving economy. Export sales should be an opportunity with the current dollar exchange rate. However, even with production in-


creases experienced in 2010 and fore- casted for 2011, the 2008 production lev- els are not expected to be reached for a couple of years. As always, there are business oppor-


tunities for those companies that focus on market niches and work closely with their customers to satisfy product needs. A more in-depth examination of the


North American market will be presented at the next Investment Casting Institute Spring Management Meeting in March.


Signs of Recovery Evident for European Investment Casting Industry in 2010; Perhaps 3% More Expected in 2011


by David Ford, European Investment Casters Federation; John Parker, Cast Metals Federation; and Richard Hirst, Blayson Olefines


The European investment casting in- dustry showed signs of recovery in 2010. Revised data from member associa-


tions and verbal reports from the indus- try suggested that the shipments from the overall European market was around 1650 million € ($2270 million U.S) for 2009. The returns indicate that there was a reduction in shipments during the sec- ond half of 2009 which was carried into the first half of 2010. It is estimated that the shipments for 2010 will be around 1750 million € ($2430 million U.S. ).


There has been a significant recov-


ery in the automotive market and overall business has improved during the second half of 2010 with fewer companies work- ing short time. The automotive business continues to improve with companies restocking fleet cars and a significant in- crease in demand for quality cars in the Far East.


Regarding the high-value market, the


general opinion is that the aero market is stable with little change during 2010 over 2009, however, the power generation market remains depressed compared with pre 2009 levels. Within Europe, an increase in busi-


ness activity has been noticed in the East- ern countries and Russia, whereas the Western activities have remained level over the last couple of years.


January 2011 The main problem facing the indus-


try for 2011 and probably though to 2012 is the stability of market forecast. This is due to the difficulty customers have in providing business visibility and the un- certainty of future orders. It is difficult to predict an improvement beyond a per- haps 3%.


However, it is reassuring to note that


the industry continues to take the reces- sion stoically and has instigated actions to plan for future business. Membership of the European Invest-


ment Casters Federation (EICF) has in- creased by 6% with no resignations dur- ing the year. This is a good indication that the industry continues to remain positive with confidence in the future.


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