Frac Sand Market Report 2026

The frac sand market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $8.57 billion in 2025 to $9.4 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to expansion of shale gas exploration activities, rising hydraulic fracturing operations, growth in horizontal drilling techniques, increasing demand for high-strength proppants, development of regional sand mines.

The frac sand market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $13.46 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing investments in unconventional oil and gas projects, rising demand for environmentally optimized fracturing materials, expansion of domestic frac sand production, growing use of advanced proppant technologies, increasing drilling efficiency requirements. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing use of high-performance proppants, rising demand for resin-coated and engineered sands, growing focus on localized sand sourcing, expansion of recycled and treated frac sand, enhanced emphasis on consistent grain quality.

The increasing demand for oil and gas is expected to drive the growth of the frac sand market going forward. Oil and gas demand refers to the total volume of petroleum and natural gas products required by consumers and industries for energy, transportation, and manufacturing. This rise in demand is largely due to expanding global industrialization, which increases energy consumption across manufacturing and transportation sectors. Frac sand supports the oil and gas industry by improving the efficiency of hydraulic fracturing, enabling greater extraction of oil and gas from shale formations. For example, in December 2025, the US Energy Information Administration, a US-based government agency, reported that oil production increased from 12.2 million barrels per day in December 2022 to 13.3 million barrels per day, while natural gas output reached 128.8 billion cubic feet per day in December 2023. Therefore, the growing oil and gas demand is fueling the expansion of the frac sand market.

Major companies in the frac sand market are investing in technological innovations, such as bottom discharge trailer-mounted sand delivery systems, to strengthen their competitive position. A bottom discharge trailer-mounted sand delivery system is a specialized transport vehicle with bottom-mounted hoppers or gates that enable rapid, controlled unloading of frac sand directly into onsite storage or silos, significantly reducing unloading times and improving supply chain throughput. For example, in February 2025, Dragon Products, Ltd., a U.S.-based energy equipment manufacturer, introduced SandForce, a bottom discharge trailer-mounted sand delivery system designed for frac sand operations. It can unload a standard 25-tonne load in approximately 11 minutes, uses gravity-fed delivery to minimize dust, and features mechanized slide gates for precise control, enhancing operational efficiency by reducing turnaround time compared with traditional trailers. This innovation improves transport and handling efficiency and supports higher throughput at well sites, although initial capital costs and integration with existing logistics networks may pose adoption challenges.

In March 2024, Atlas Energy Solutions Inc., a US-based industrial sand mining company, acquired Hi-Crush Inc. for an undisclosed sum. This strategic acquisition strengthens Atlas’s position as the largest proppant producer in the United States, with a combined annual production capacity of around 28 million tons. The deal also boosts Atlas’s leadership in proppant logistics across the Permian Basin and brings together two of the industry’s most innovative companies. Hi-Crush Inc. is a US-based manufacturer of frac sand, which serves as a proppant in hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and gas extraction.

Major companies operating in the frac sand market are U.S. Silica Holdings Inc, Fairmount Santrol, Preferred Sands, Badger Mining Corporation, Unimin Corporation, Emerge Energy Services LP, Hi‑Crush Inc, Smart Sand Inc, Atlas Sand Company LLC, Sierra Frac Sand LLC, Mammoth Energy Service Inc, Permian Frac Sand LLC, Preferred Proppants LLC, Victory Nickel Inc, Vista Proppants and Logistics, SandBox Logistics, Superior Silica Sands LLC, Black Mountain Sand, Pattison Sand Company LLC, Alborz Silica.

North America was the largest region in the frac sand market in 2025. The regions covered in the frac sand market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the frac sand market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The frac sand market consists of sales of synthetic proppants, treated and washed sand, and Ottawa sand. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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