INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

However, high cost of diamond, both natural and synthetic, and availability of low cost alternatives have led to decrease in adoption of industrial diamonds for various applications. These alternatives are cheaper than diamond and may be used in low cost operations. Low cost alternatives for industrial diamond in cutting and polishing include cubic boron nitride, silicon carbide, and fused aluminum oxide.

Market Outlook

North America was the largest market for industrial diamonds in 2016. The major end-use industries of industrial diamonds in the region were mining, oil & gas, electronics, and automotive. The booming shale oil and gas production in the U.S. is a major factor driving growth of the industrial diamond market. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the shale oil output from the U.S. shale plays reached around 7.2 million bpd in June, 2018.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the production of industrial diamonds in the U.S. was pegged at 125 million carats in 2015. Although much of the demand in the country was met by imports from China. China’s production of industrial diamonds in 2016 was pegged at 4 billion carats according to the same source.