很长一段时间内，在美国，冲天炉都是熔化多种铸铁的主要设备。虽然在美国国内正在运行的冲天炉从2000年左右的200台降至如今的42台，但是冲天炉技术的升级，冲天炉效率的提高以及冶金和冲天炉本身的成本红利仍然确保了冲天炉在铁的生产过程中的重要以及主要技术地位。在美国国内现今运行的42座冲天炉铸造厂，供应了美国铸铁产量的53%。约62%（375万吨每年）的灰铁生产和38%（230万吨每年）的球墨铸铁生产是由冲天炉提供的。
Projections from AFS metalcasting Forecast & Trends show that total annual shipments for iron castings is 6.74 million tons per year. By applying typical yield rates for the various SIC codes (ductile pipe, municipal, agricultural, automotive, etc.), estimates show that total tons melted for all iron types total about 11.45 million tons per year. By applying knowledge-based estimates of the cupola industry, it is estimated that of the total iron melted, about 6.07 million tons per year are melted by 23 companies using cupolas.
根据美国铸造协会的‘金属铸造预测和趋势’，每年的铸铁一共有674万吨。通过将典型的收益率应用于各种标准工业分类编码上（球墨铸铁管，市政的，农业的，机动车的等等），预测显示各种铁质类型的年产量为1145万吨。通过应用基于知识的预测，在每年的铁熔化量中，大约有607万吨是由23家使用冲天炉的厂家所提供的。
There are SIC sectors, such as ductile iron pipe and high production automotive/industrial/municipal foundries, where cupolas are the mainstay. In other SIC sectors, demand for a wide variety of metallurgical grades have made the cupola less attractive. Cupolas have, however, remained highly competitive, due to their flexibility, giving them a competitive advantage over electric melting methods.
在标准行业分类中，例如球墨铸铁管和高产量的机动车/工业/市政铸造，冲天炉是支柱。在其他标准行业分类中，对于冶金等级的多种广泛的需求降低了冲天炉的吸引力。冲天炉因为其灵活性仍然在与电熔化方法的比较中保持了竞争性优势。
While cupolas are a big part of the iron melting picture in the U.S., the landscape of the cupola has changed. Stricter environmental regulations in the last three decades, combined with the changing metallurgical demands in foundries, have led many to believe that cupolas are going away. While it is true that there are fewer cupolas, it can be said with certainty they are not going away anytime soon. Cupolas continue to have some advantages, compared to electric melting, but there are six primary myths about cupolas that should be dispelled.
虽然冲天炉在美国仍然在铁的熔化中占有大量份额，但是冲天炉的前景已经改变了。在过去30年中，更加严格的环境政策以及铸造公司不断改变的冶金需求，使得许多人认为冲天炉正在逐渐消失。虽然事实上冲天炉的数量在降低并变得很少，但是它们不会很快消失。相对电炉，冲天炉一直保持着一些优势。但是这里有6个有关冲天炉的误会需要被消除。