U.S. consumers are keeping sales in the cookware category at a seemingly steady pace with more than $746M in sales for the period of May 2007 to April 2008.

According to The NPD Group's Retail Tracking Service, dollar growth for the category rose only 0.1 percent from the previous year. Cast iron cookware sizzled, with a 37.7 percent increase in sales, while aluminum cookware didn't fair so well with a sales drop of 6.7 percent.

According to the data, consumers aren't purchasing cookware featuring interior nonstick coating as much as they used to. The category saw a 4.0 percent decline in sales for the same period. In terms of cookware stock type, it's full steam ahead for pressure cooker sales. The segment saw a 24.3 percent increase in sales. Steamers seemed to lose their steam, though, experiencing a 17 percent decline in overall sales.

Source: The NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service