Citing rising demand and production costs, Katy frac sand company U.S. Silica is raising the price of its non-frac sand products.
In a Tuesday morning statement, U.S. Silicia that it is raising prices for most of its products used to make everything from paints and roofing materials to chemicals, building products and kitty litter.
Depending on the product and grade, price increases will be as much as 6 percent. The company is also increasing prices of whole grain sand used to make glass by 5 percent.
The price increases, company officials said, are being made to offset rising production costs and increasing capacity to meet growing demand.
U.S. Silica’s announcement comes less than two weeks after the company announced cutting its workforce by 10 percent and idling two frac sand mines.
Sand is a critical ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing process. And although sand use per well is up, overall demand is down amid $50 per barrel crude oil prices that have created a slump in drilling and well completion activity.
Facing eroding profits from frac sand, U.S. Silica is shifting to other products.
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Founded in 2008 and headquartered in the Houston suburb of Katy, U.S. Silica has more than 2,800 employees across the United States.
The company reported a $201 million loss on nearly $1.6 billion of revenue during 2018.
