A preferred provider for Haliburton, SandBox Logistics is a growth-focused Houston company that is set to expand its role in the last-mile frac sand logistics sphere. A recent Motley Fool article focused on U.S. Silica-affiliated SandBox Logistics’ positioning in a shale drilling market that has rebounded significantly over the past year.
U.S. Silica CEO Bryan Shinn believes that the post-crash shale expansion is still in its early stages, with capacity still not at a level that fully meets customer needs. Internal estimates portray U.S. industry demand for sand proppant at 75 million tons for the current year, with this expected to rise to in excess of 100 tons in 2018. Indeed, some forecasts are calling for the market to reach 147 million tons by the end of 2018. With capacity potentially strained, Shinn spoke of not allowing sand to emerge as a “completions industry bottleneck.”
One major advantage of the SandBox Logistics approach is its long-term focus on customer service, with customers able to set in place sand supply contracts over a three-to-five-year period. In addition to increasing margins on each ton sold, the firm is able to lock in prices and volumes in ways that allow for sustainable planning.
