U.S. salt industry weathers recession

The U.S. salt industry is weathering the storm of the nation's economic recession according to national salt sales data released today by the Salt Institute, the industry's trade association. In the first six months of 2009, salt industry sales rose 7.6% to $987 million. Tons of salt sold declined along with the national economy, dropping by a fifth (20.9%), led by plummeting sales to the battered chemical industry which dropped by a third (32.6%). Salt producers sold 14.4 million tons of salt from January through June 2009, compared to 18.2 million tons the previous year.

Even in recessions, people eat every day, so food salt sales resisted the decline in consumption, easing only 3.6% while the biggest decline in absolute terms was in sales to maintain safety and mobility on American roads. The tons of road deicing salt sold slipped from 12.2 million tons in 2008 to 9.3 million tons this year, a 24.3% slump.

No one can predict the weather and more than three-quarters of the lower salt usage is due directly to Mother Nature's benevolence in reducing snow and ice events this past winter. We need to remember that weather conditions last year produced an all-time level of road salt sales, more than 10% over the historic record. This year's rather average winter was the driving force in moderating the tons of road salt sold. To protect the environment, the Salt Institute, since the mid-1960s, has urged its customers to use the minimum amount of salt required to keep roads safe, so softened demand in the face of a less severe winter is actually good news.

The minor dip in salt sales for human and animal nutrition probably reflects reduced inventories by food producers and livestock producers since humans as well as livestock and poultry all consume constant amounts of salt that are unchanging over time.

The Salt Institute has tracked U.S. sale sales for more than 30 years. Historical data are online.

U.S. Salt Sales January-June 2009