Soda ash production in the US state of Wyoming declined slightly in 2006 but still accounted for about 38% of the worldwide total, according to a report. China remains a tough competitor however, and India is an emerging force. Wyoming producers accounted for more than 95% of US soda ash production in 2006, according to the report by Dennis Kostick, a soda ash analyst for the US Geological Survey. Kostick predicted that both global and domestic demand for soda ash would continue to increase by about 1.5% to 2% over the next few years. He said slowdowns in the domestic automobile and construction industries in 2006 affected soda ash consumption. Wyoming's 4 major soda ash companies produced about 10.9M/t soda ash in 2006, down from 11.1M/t 2005. However, the total value of domestic soda ash produced in 2006 increased from US$ 905M to US$ 928M. Southwest Wyoming has the world's largest trona ore deposits and nearly all of the nation's reachable trona reserves. The trona lies in beds 600 to 2,000 feet underground in the Green River Basin. The industry employs more than 2,100 people in southwest Wyoming. Congress cut the federal royalty for trona in 2006 from 6% to 2%, to help the industry compete with China's soda ash industry.
