The fracking revolution that has resurrected energy drilling in the U.S. is having broader effects on reviving American industry, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“That boom in drilling has expanded the output of oil and gas in the U.S. more than 57 percent in the past decade,” the newspaper reported. The re-birth of U.S. drilling is driving down the cost of raw materials for plastics companies like Dow Chemical, which is putting $8 billion into petrochemical facilities along the Gulf of Mexico.

“The scale of the sector’s investment is staggering: $185 billion in new U.S. petrochemical projects are in construction or planning, according to the American Chemistry Council,” the WSJ reported. “Last year, expenditures on chemical plants alone accounted for half of all capital investment in U.S. manufacturing, up from less than 20% in 2009, according to the Census Bureau.”

Companies are starting new U.S. petrochemical projects — 310