Chemical News

Although the production of silicon metal and ferrosilicon are closely associated, the markets are very different. Silicon, which is used in the growing aluminium, chemical and electronics industries, is expected to show growth in demand of about 6%py over the next five years, with silicone chemicals being the fastest-growing sector in volume terms.

Ferrosilicon, on the other hand, depends for a major part of its demand on cast iron, the market for which has been stagnant for some years. Demand for ferrosilicon in carbon and alloy steels is growing, however, and the market almost equals that in cast iron. Market growth for ferrosilicon is expected to be less than 1.5%py up to 2007, but demand for use in steels will exceed 2%.On the supply side, world production of silicon metal increased from about 730kt in 1992 to almost 1.2Mt in 2002, mainly because of increasing Chinese output, the data for which are unreliable. Silicon metal is produced in 15 countries and in 2001 Chinese production accounted for about 39% of world production, with output in Norway (12%), the USA (11%) and Brazil (10%) accounting for most of the remainder. World production of ferrosilicon stood at 4.23Mt in 2001, a decline of 1.7% on the previous year in which production had increased by 12%. Again, Chinese output is the largest in the world, but it peaked at 1.46Mt in 1996. Nevertheless, output in 2001 stood at almost 1.4Mt, compared with 376kt in 1985.

'The Economics of Silicon & Ferrosilicon' analyses the key trends, issues and developments in the market. It provides a clear insight into all areas of the industry and an authoritative analysis of the prospects for the future.

Countries covered in the report include:
Argentina, Australia, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Macedonia, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

The contents of this report are as follows:
1. Summary
2. History, occurrence, resources and properties of silicon
3. Production processes for silicon and ferrosilicon
4. World production data for silicon metal and ferrosilicon
5. Notes on silicon and ferrosilicon producing countries
6. Consumption of ferrosilicon and silicon metal
7. Uses of silicon metal
8. Consumption of ferrosilicon
9. International trade in silicon metal and ferrosilicon

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c18009

Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Research and Markets
e-mail protected from spam bots
Fax: +353 1 4100 980