The Abrasives Industry in Europe and North America: A Market/Technology Report” is a market report of over 470 pages that analyses the markets for bonded abrasives, coated abrasives, superabrasives, loose abrasives and abrasive grains. It provides in-depth data on production, consumption, trade and markets by region. The emphasis is on markets in Europe and North America, though the Asian sector, which is growing in importance, is also examined in detail.

The in-depth report also provides: statistical information on abrasive products and abrasive grains in over 340 tables (recent data on imports, exports, production, etc); review of key producers (company activities, market position, recent performance, etc); assessment of end-user sectors; technology trends (such as microcrystalline abrasives, CMP, wire-sawing, new grain types, bonds and backing materials). This is the fifth edition of the report (the previous edition was published in 2003) and the information it contains has been completely up-dated and expanded.

The value of diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN) products sold in Western Europe is around €1.2 billion, excluding single point cutting tools and large stones. The value of superabrasives sold in North America was less than in Europe, primarily because the market for saw grits in Europe is much larger than that of the USA.

Total demand for blast cleaning and related abrasive material in Western Europe is in excess of 850,000 tonnes, excluding silica sand, and is worth approximately €280 million. This total includes about 220,000 tonnes of steel and cast iron abrasives. Overall, therefore, the total market for loose, bonded, coated and superabrasive products in Western Europe in 2005 was valued at about €3.2 billion. Germany is the largest national market in Europe, with about one third of the total.

The total value of abrasive products produced in the USA in 2005 was $3.6 billion, comprising around $1.8 billion of coated and related products, $1.0 billion of bonded products (including superabrasives), $700 million of loose abrasives and $125 million of metallic abrasives. Consumption of abrasives in the USA in most categories was higher than domestic production due to substantial imports.