CPT International 04/2014

force and drug gangs have been connected
with their disappearance – the
situation is thus extremely complex.
From the economic point of view, Mexico
profits from the growth effects resulting
from the NAFTA free trade
agreement. Upcoming liberalization of
the energy sector could considerably
reduce production costs, so Mexico
could develop into Latin America’s economic
star in the coming decade. Experts
believe that electricity costs for
Mexican producers might fall by 20 %
in future – and foundries in this Central
American country could also profit
Figure 1: Brazil has a surplus in its main raw materials
from this substantial competitive advantage.
Brazil’s foundry-related expertise is
also reflected in the importance of its
foundry industry in international
comparisons: according to the 47th
Census of World Casting Production
compiled by the magazine Modern
Casting in December 2013, Brazil holds
seventh place in the ranking of the
largest foundry nations with 2,859,898
tonnes. Mexico holds a good 11th
place with 1,651,679 tonnes, while Argentina
is an ‘also ran’ in 26th place
with just 166,100 tonnes.
Figure 2: Currently, Brazil and Mexico have the same level of vehicle production
Argentina’s foundry industry
The foundry production of the smallest
of the three foundry nations has reached
a ten-year low. 68 % of its foundry products
are made from cast iron, 23 % from
non-ferrous metals and 9 % from steel.
The main customers are to be found in
the automotive sector (57 %), agriculture
(20 %), capital goods (10 %) and the railways
(4 %).
Mexico’s foundry industry
At 45 %, the share of non-ferrous production
in Mexico is very high. In a
worldwide comparison, the country is
also in seventh place in the ranking of
aluminum producers. Half the foundry
production, however, still involves
cast iron. Steel castings only represent
5 % of total capacity. Most of Mexico’s
casting exports (87 %) go to the USA. A
high level of dependency on the automotive
industry can be seen in all three
Latin American foundry nations: 57 %
of Argentina’s output is used for vehicle
production, 58 % of Brazil’s and between
75 and 80 % of Mexico’s. Concrete
figures on vehicle production
in the three countries can be seen in
Figure 2. A comparison of the number
of vehicles per person in the three
countries shows that Latin America’s
automotive sector still has major potentials
for growth.
Brazil’s foundry industry
The dominant material in Brazil is
cast iron, with a share of 83 % of total
production, compared to just 9 % for
non-ferrous metals and 8 % for steel.
71 % of the cast iron products, a large
majority, are still made using cast iron
with lamellar graphite. In the case
of the non-ferrous metals, the most
common material is aluminum. 73 %
of aluminum castings are supplied to
the automotive industry. Steel castings
are mainly carbon steel followed
by high-manganese steel, alloyed steel
and stainless steel. The distribution of
foundries within Brazil is also interesting.
91 % of all foundry production
takes place in the south or south-east of
the country. 55 % of exported castings
are delivered to the USA. ­Figure 3 shows
the development of exports in Brazil divided
up into the various materials.
Casting Plant & Technology 4/2014 43