Great Lakes Firms See Natural Gas Price Hikes

Jason Sandefur

Manufacturers and metal finishers in the Great Lakes region are paying about 27% more for natural gas compared with the average U.S. price, a new Manufacturers Alliance study found. Companies in the region are under “intense pressure” from natural gas prices, economist Don Norman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Metal-fabrication industries running large furnaces that provide heat treatments for steel and stainless steel fasteners are feeling the heat from high energy costs.
“We saw increases that occurred around the first of the year, and the prices have remained high,” stated Alan Holtz of foundry Spuncast Inc.
Since 2002 gas prices have increased about 53% to $7.92 per million BTUs in the region. And there”s little price relief in sight, forcing companies to adopt more creative solutions.
Spuncast reportedly redesigned its foundry equipment to capture and reuse excess heat.
“We are doing everything we can to become as energy-efficient as possible. In the long run, we will be better off,” Holtz explained.
Domestic demand for natural gas has outpaced supply by 400% since 1990, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. \ �2006 FastenerNews.com