SIC 3322 Malleable Iron Foundries

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• Demand for Cheaper, Lighter, and Stronger Components.
• Changing Markets.
• Replacement by Ductile Iron Castings.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• WORKFORCE.
• AMERICA AND THE WORLD.
• RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 3322

This industry is made up of establishments primarily engaged in the manufacturing of malleable iron castings.

NAICS CODE(S)

331511

Iron Foundries

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Casting molten metal is one of the most efficient and economical ways of shaping metal products. Malleable iron foundries are typically large plants in which workers make metal products called castings by pouring molten metal into molds that then are left to harden. Malleable iron is made from white cast iron by annealing it at temperatures from 1500 to 1850 degrees Fahrenheit over several days. When annealed, the iron carbide breaks up, producing rosettes of graphite. The iron is known for its shock resistance, strength, machinability, and ductility. Products such as engine blocks, iron ornaments, and valves can be made from malleable iron castings. The automotive, railroad, construction, agricultural implement, and hardware industries have wide uses for malleable iron castings.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total iron foundry industry employment reached 80,899 workers, receiving a payroll of almost $3.3 billion, in 2000. Within this workforce, 67,985 of these employees worked in production, putting in roughly 143 million hours to earn wages of almost $2.7 billion. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at $12.46 billion in 2000.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Castings are used in 90 percent of all durable goods. In 1999, there were 2,950 metal foundries in the United States with a capacity to ship 17.7 million tons of castings annually. Actual shipments amounted to an estimated 14.7 million tons in 1998, up from 1997 shipments of 14.2 million tons valued at $25.7 billion. Iron castings (including gray iron, ductile iron, and compacted iron graphite, in addition to malleable iron) accounted for 73 percent of the overall metal tonnage shipped and sold, but only 35 percent of the overall value.

In 1995, there were more than 3,100 U.S. metal foundries making over 100,000 distinct products. Malleable iron casting production represented approximately 1.7 percent of the total U.S. casting output. Capacity utilization in 1990 for malleable iron foundries was 78 percent, just slightly better than the 75 percent average for the entire foundry industry. This reflected the high rate of disinvestment in plants and equipment that occurred during the 1980s.

As an indication of the decline of this industry, government statisticians classify malleable iron foundries as job shops. These foundries generally operate on a job or order basis by manufacturing castings for sale to others, or for interplant transfer. In the 1970s, half of all malleable iron foundry castings came from in-house or captive plants. But in the 1980s, a major shift occurred when large independent manufacturers of railroad cars, oil-drilling equipment, heavy machinery, automobile, trucks, and major appliances sold off, shut down, or consolidated their captive operations. Near the end of the century, upwards of 75 percent of all malleable iron castings came from independent or custom casters.

These foundries produce two types of malleable iron: standard malleable iron and pearlitic malleable iron. In the early 1990s, the value of shipments for each of these two product classes of malleable iron castings were 145,800 metric tons (mt) for standard malleable iron (62.1 percent of total) and 89,100 mt for pearlitic malleable iron (37.9 percent of total).

Most of the malleable iron foundries are found in the nation's midwestern and northeastern states. The largest malleable iron-producing states, in...