The metalcasting industry is a major contributor to the U.S. economy, maintaining annual shipments between 14 and 15 million tons since 1994. In recent decades, the industry went through a long period of downsizing because of heightened foreign competition, decreases in the number and size of vehicles being manufactured, increased use of substitutes for metals, and higher costs for environmental compliance. The industry's production fell from 21.9 million tons in 1973 to 11.3 million tons in 1991, and more than a third of the nation's foundries had closed by the early 1990s. Today, nonferrous castings and value-added castings contribute to the industry's steady performance. [DOE 1999]