Metals & Minerals Industry One of Three Leading Growth Industries for 2006

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). As indicated in Industrial Info’s North American Industrial Project Spending Index (See related news article - Industrial Project Spending Indicators Up Again in August), the Metals & Minerals Industry, along with the Oil & Gas Industry, and Synthetic Fuels Industry are the leading growth industries for 2006, as far as project spending growth when compared to 2005 are concerned.

The Metals & Minerals Project Spending Index for August 2006 shows growth of 84% for 2006 when compared to the same period in 2005. Currently, Industrial Info is monitoring 979 projects totaling $26 billion under construction or set to begin construction during 2006. Some of the larger projects to begin construction earlier this year include a grassroot steel mill for SeverCorr LLC in Mississippi, a new $600 million polysilicon manufacturing plant for REC Solar Grade Silicon in Moses Lake, Washington, and a grassroot $450 million, 220-megawatt coal-fired power plant to supply power to Newmont Mining gold mining operations in Nevada.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of 2006 project spending by market region.

Drilling further down into the Metals & Minerals Industry, the three main sectors -mining, steel, and cement - are experiencing accelerated spending in 2006, and this trend is expected to continue into 2007. With a Confidence Factor of 66%, Industrial Info expects a good majority of these projects will move forward to construction. However, some project fallout is occurring. For example the $3.5 billion Muskeg River Oil Sands project has pushed its construction start to 2007 due to permitting issues.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.