Shortage of material delayed the production of cassette tapes

Production at National Audio Company, America’s largest cassette tape manufacturer, has slowed due to the worldwide shortage of gamma ferric oxide, material essential for the production of cassette tapes, Pitchfork reports. The only factory that refines the magnetic material used in the production of professional audio recording tape has been under renovation for most of the year. NAC is awaiting a delivery of back-orders of more than 50 tons of the material, having received only two tons this year. Cassette album sales were up 23 percent in 2018, with 219,000 tapes being sold in the US, compared to 178,000 in 2017, Billboard reported.