Minerals and Earths, Ground or Otherwise Treated

Products in this classification include barium, blast furnace slag, clay for petroleum refining, ground clay, activated clay desiccants, diatomaceous earth, filtering clays, Fuller's earth, kaolin, black lead, mica, pulverized earth, pumice roofing granules, talc, and vermiculite. The value of shipments in this industry tended to spike up and down throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, dropping as low as $1.17 billion in 1985 and rising as high as $1.85 billion in 1993. Fluctuations continued into the late 1990s and early 2000s, as shipments of $2.26 billion in 1997 fell to $2.11 billion in 1999, climbed to $2.18 billion in 2000, and fell to $2.12 billion in 2001. By the mid-2000s, shipments remained inconsistent from year to year. Industry revenues rose from $2.34 billion in 2005, to $2.68 billion in 2006, then dipped to $2.61 billion in 2007. In 2008, shipments were valued at $2.64 billion.

No single product dominates this industry, with no product taking more than 15 percent of the market. Lightweight aggregate holds the largest share of the market, followed closely by crushed slag, dead-burned magnesia, and natural graphite. A wide range of other materials and earths holds the remaining share of the market. Kaolin was one of the biggest products within the industry in both intake and output, being an ingredient in several products. Once the kaolin was processed, it was sent to many industries with a wide range of products. The biggest consumer in the 2000s was the fiberglass industry. Rubber and elastomeric industries took the next highest share, followed by sanitaryware and filler or extender, refractories, dinnerware, ceramic tile, and electrical porcelain.

The products produced by this industry tended to have a relatively low value compared to their weight. As a result of weight, truck transportation, warehousing, and rail transportation accounted for the highest percentage of the inputs used by the minerals and earths industry by the middle of the decade. The raw materials accounted for the next highest percentage of all inputs. The power required to process ground mineral and earth products were also important inputs, with gas and electric utilities accounting for another high percentage of all inputs.

The production of ground minerals and earths was concentrated in five states, with Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Louisiana, and California accounting for more than one-third of all product shipments in the mid-2000s. Pennsylvania was the largest single producing state engaged in this industry. According Dun and Bradstreet, about 400 establishments were engaged in this industry as of 2009.

In 2010, the leading companies in the ground minerals and earths industry included Minerals Technologies Inc. of New York; privately owned Edward C. Levy Co. of Detroit, Michigan; International Mill Service of Horsham, Pennsylvania; and Cargill Inc. of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Many companies operated out of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, where abundant supplies of clay (kaolin) were located.

This industry employed far fewer people by the mid-2000s with a total of 6,400 in 2008. The total industry payroll was just over $354.9 million in 2008, down from $368 million at the turn of the century. Cost of materials for the industry totaled $1.27 billion in 2008, up from $1.16 billion the year prior.

In the late 2000s, the industry as a whole was battling declining demand due to a weak housing market and an overall sluggish economy. For example, production of kaolin dropped from 7.8 million tons in 2005 to 5.2 million tons in 2009. At the same time, prices of many commodities within this category increased. For example, the price of kaolin increased from an average of $110 per ton in 2005 to $143 per ton in 2009.