Glass Melting Technology: A Technical and Economic ... - OSTI

Chapter II Economic Assessment of US Glass Manufacturing
II.1. Economic overview
The US glass industry is a strong factor in the nation’s economy, producing 20 million tons of
glass a year, 20 percent of the 100 million tons of glass annually produced worldwide. Moreover,
the glass industry employs an estimated 148,000 workers, making it a substantial contributor to
US per capita income. An economic assessment of glass manufacturing in the United States
today is essential if the industry is to survive current challenges and gain long-term viability.
This economic analysis of the glass industry is intended to enable comprehensive planning that
will enhance glass production nationwide. The economics of the American glass industry, like
many commodity industries, is facing very strong competition and economic challenges that
limit profitability. This has resulted in a very precarious situation in many segments of the
industry. Indeed the number of glass tanks in the United States has fallen by roughly 65 percent
in the last 25 years, but the industry has managed to maintain its output with increased
efficiency. Today the actual volume of glass produced is only slightly below the tonnage
produced 25 years ago.
To determine how the industry can survive today’s challenges, a broad cross-section of the glass
industry, including 90 percent of its larger manufacturers, was examined for economic trends.
Data and perspectives on the economic status of glassmaking were compiled through interviews
and workshops with glass melting experts throughout the United States and Europe. Over 75
corporations, companies and academic institutions were consulted over a six-month period,
March through August 2002. Statistical data up to the year 2002 were obtained through the US
Department of Commerce. Statistics were also sourced by various market studies such as the SRI
International Chemical Economics Handbook and Freedonia Studies.
Accurate statistics for glass manufacturing profitability of the four industry segments are difficult
to obtain because privately owned companies do not report financial information in the public
domain. Public companies report financial information as consolidated businesses, and US
companies with international alliances include US statistics with their global business statistics.
II.2. Economic profile of manufacturing
Each of the four major industry segments—flat glass, container glass, fiberglass, and specialty
glasses—faces different problems that defy simple solutions. Each segment requires different
technologies for different products, hampering the identification of common scientific research
needs and marketing. As each segment could be considered a separate industry, the lack of
process standardization, and the identification of common problems becomes more problematic.
An energy and environmental assessment by the Department of Energy–Office of Industrial
Technologies (DOE/OIT) in April, 2002, concluded that, in many of its markets “...the glass
industry has been challenged with plant overcapacity, increasing foreign trade and imports,
capital intensiveness, rising costs for environmental compliance, and cyclical and moderate
growth prospects.”
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