Regional Iron Casting Capacity

An interesting commentary on cast iron applications is as that there is a short-fall of cast iron foundries in North America.  This current capacity short fall is a result of off-shoring cast iron parts new foundries in China 2000-2015 time frame.  During this same period, many cast iron foundry operations in North America had to close due to decreasing prices and legislated cost increases associated with OSHA mandated capital projects aimed at the elimination of all air-born silica particles in foundries.  Many iron foundries closed their doors because there was no profit for the investor, therefore no opportunity to continue.

However, as the cost of shipping from China continued to rise and the quoted prices from Chinese foundries also continued to rise, the business case started to swing to the favor of North America, particularly to Mexico (where the more restrictive OSHA mandates from the USA were not enforceable).  Since 2015, there have been several new iron foundries launched in both the USA and Mexico that are highly efficient and environmentally responsible.  These new foundries are particularly focused on The efficient production exhaust manifolds and brake rotors.