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| Forging ahead: production of iron for metal casting. Ferrous products account for 83% of the foundries market. |
Global metal casting output reached 80.3m. tonnes in 2009, down from 93.5m. tonnes in 2008, with the top three producing countries - China (35.3m. tonnes), India (7.44m. tonnes) and the USA (7.40m. tonnes) - representing 62% of global production. In the traditional foundry hub of Western Europe, Germany led the market with an output of 3.9m. tonnes.
The data reported are from production numbers provided by each nation’s metal casting association for 2009, collated by the World Foundry Organisation. Although production suffered falling volumes in 2009 - corresponding to lower demand for metal products in end markets such as automobiles and construction - preliminary data from 2010 indicates that casting output increased last year, with output expected to reach 2007 levels by 2012.