# Silica sand: Cycles Why value fell faster than tonnage in 2025 Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/cycles/ What this tab covers Price history and what drives booms and busts, including this commodity's super-cycles, the drivers behind them and the metrics to track. It charts monthly prices (World Bank) with a switch to inflation-adjusted annual prices; where there is no World Bank series it uses USGS US prices. There is no exchange price. The average US value fell from $45.40/t in 2022 to about $36/t in 2025. In 2025 the value of sales dropped 16% while tonnage fell 5%. Frac sand oversupply caused the slump, and some operators idled mines. Demand tracks drilling, but sand per well keeps rising with longer laterals and more proppant per metre. The US onshore rig count averaged 549 in the first ten months of 2025, down 6%. Cheaper in-basin and undried 'wet' sand has also squeezed distant mines. #### US price, Industrial sand and gravel, average US value 2021 40.8 2022 45.4 2023 42.9 2024 40.9 2025 36.0 dollars per metric ton. USGS MCS 2026; 2025 is an estimate. #### Super-cycles in silica sand Industrial sand has no long boom-bust price history like metals; for decades it was a cheap, local material whose price tracked freight. The US shale boom created a true cycle in one segment: frac sand demand surged after 2010, Northern White sand became a premium product, and then in-basin Permian mines collapsed prices after 2018. US output went from 91 Mt in 2021 to 136 Mt in 2023 and back to 120 Mt in 2025, while the average value fell to $36/t. High-purity quartz has its own small, sharp cycle tied to solar wafer build-outs. 1. 2010-2014 Horizontal drilling with longer laterals and more sand per well made frac sand the dominant US use. Wisconsin and Minnesota mines expanded fast, and railed Northern White sand became the standard proppant. No consistent price series in the sources used; Wisconsin-area miners held about 75% of the market in 2014 (Rystad via World Oil, 2019) 2. 2018-2020 New mines opened in the Permian next to the wells. Cheaper local sand replaced railed Northern White sand, about 45 Mt of Midwest capacity left the market and Emerge Energy Services went bankrupt in 2019. Rystad forecast 2019 prices of about $30/t for West Texas sand (down 19%) and $25/t for Northern White (down 29%) (World Oil, Feb 2019) 3. 2021-2025 Shale activity recovered, lifting US sales to a record 136 Mt in 2023, then oversupply and fewer rigs cut output and prices. Texas ended frac sand's sales-tax exemption in July 2025 and petroleum-coke proppant gained share. US average value $40.80/t (2021), $45.40 (2022), $42.90 (2023), $40.90 (2024), about $36 (2025) (USGS MCS 2026) 4. 2023-2025 (high-purity quartz) A solar wafer build-out pushed up demand for HPQ crucible quartz, then PV demand fell in 2024-25 and US-China tariff talks hit trade. Hurricane Helene closed the Spruce Pine mines in September 2024. US HPQ price range $500-20,000/t in 2023, narrowing to $500-12,000/t in 2025 (USGS MCS 2026) #### What drives the cycle - **US shale completions.** Frac sand was 81% of US tonnage in 2025, so rig counts, lateral length and proppant per metre drive volumes. - **Freight and logistics.** Sand sells for tens of dollars a tonne, so rail fees of $50-60/t can decide which mines survive. - **Construction and packaging glass.** Flat glass, containers and fibreglass are the steady base load outside the US; the shift from plastic to glass packaging supports demand. - **Solar and semiconductor wafer output.** Sets demand for high-purity quartz crucibles, a small but high-value segment. - **Silica dust regulation and zoning.** Crystalline silica rules and local land use limit new quarries near cities (USGS). #### Metrics to track | Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it | |---|---|---| | **US onshore rig count** | Leading indicator of frac sand demand (average 549 in the first 10 months of 2025) | Baker Hughes weekly North America rig count | | **US industrial sand sold or used and average value** | Volume and price in the largest market | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (annual) and quarterly mineral industry surveys | | **Proppant volumes and realised prices of listed producers** | Real-time read on the frac sand market | Atlas Energy Solutions quarterly results | | **Flat and container glass output** | Base demand for glass sand | Glass Alliance Europe, All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation, national statistics | | **Solar wafer and ingot production** | Demand driver for HPQ crucibles | IEA PV reports; China Photovoltaic Industry Association | | **HPQ price range** | Shows the tightness of the crucible quartz market | USGS MCS Quartz chapter | ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/correlation/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/stocks/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/links/index.md)