Global Steel Pipe Fitting Market – U.S. Demands More Imports

IndexBox has just published a new report "World - Tube Or Pipe Fittings (Of Iron Or Steel) - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights". Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

Global Steel Tube Fittings Consumption Declined for the Third Consecutive Year

In 2017, the volume of the global steel tube fittings consumption stood at approx. X tons (IndexBox estimates). After a noticeable contraction in 2009, the volume of consumption recovered over the next three years and then levelled of through to 2014. From 2015-2017, the market volume has been declining steadily due to an overall slowdown of the global economy, a slump in oil drilling projects hampered by low oil prices and decreased use of steel tubes in construction industry in favor of plastic tubes.

In value terms, the global steel tube fittings market stood at $X in 2017, which was relatively unchanged against the previous year. From 2015-2016, the market value declined sharply and then flattened, given a downward trend pattern of the volume of imports and a long-term gradual decline in prices. Global average prices for steel tube fittings have been declining gradually from 2015, reflecting the decreasing steel prices, but bounced back slightly in 2017, which could be a sign of market stabilization.

China, the U.S. and Germany Remain Top Steel Tube Fittings Consumers Worldwide

China (X tons), the U.S. (X tons) and Germany (X tons) constitute major consuming countries, accounting for X% of the global figure. They were followed by Russia, Canada, Pakistan, the UK, Turkey, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and France, which together comprised a further X%. Moreover, China also remain the largest producer of steel tube fittings.

Global Steel Pipe Fitting Market is Set to Grow Moderately

Steel pipe fittings are complementary products for steel pipes since they connect pipes in both engineering networks and industrial equipment. Therefore, in the medium term, the growth of the world economy and population growth, as well as rapid urbanization in Asian countries will remain the main factors of market growth. These factors promote the development of a number of industries, such as the food and beverage industry, the chemical and petrochemical industry etc., which leads to increased consumption of technological systems and equipment, as well as engineering systems of buildings and structures including steel pipes and fittings.

Despite the trend to reduce the consumption of steel pipes in construction in favor of plastic pipes, the growth in demand for pipes from the industry will be the main contributor to the growth of the market. Steel pipes have no alternative in many industries requiring handling with aggressive and dangerous fluids and gases. Considering all of the above, the forecasted market volume will be determined by the growth dynamics of the world economy in general.

According to the IMF forecast, the growth of the world economy will be about X% in the medium term. The critical impetus for growth is to come from emerging Asian countries, where the industry will develop against the backdrop of the rapid development of the economy and the increase in the income of the population, which create a stable base for the growth of consumption of various goods. Besides, resumed growth of oil production in the United States will also contribute to the growth.

Driven by the global economy growth, the performance of the market is forecast to accelerate, expanding with an anticipated CAGR of +X% for the eight-year period from 2017 to 2025, which is projected to bring the market volume to X tons by the end of 2025.

About X% of the Steel Fittings Products in the World are Exported

A high intensity of trade characterizes pipe or pipe fittings exports market as about X% of the world output is exported. Most of the exports come from China, with the country being the global leader in the production of steel and steel products having low export prices, which makes the Chinese products competitive on the market.

China and India are the Best Options for Sourcing Steel Tube Fittings

The global production leadership still belongs to China; moreover, it has been increasingly robust over the recent years. On the other hand, Italy, the U.S., India and Germany are the largest if only considering those that decline in production volumes.

Furthermore, the largest and growing exporting countries are China, India, and Italy. Among them, China and India had the lowest export prices, which is why they are expected to be the most attractive exporters of steel tube fittings. Nevertheless, the choice of the most promising country also depends on the specific type and purpose of the fittings - Germany and the United States export the most expensive products, but they are designed for high-tech applications, whereas China massively exports cheap fittings for a more general use.

European Countries, Japan and the U.S. are the Most Promising Overseas Markets for Steel Tube Fittings Exports

The largest consumers are China and the U.S., but in China, the market is buoyed by domestic production; moreover, China remains the leading exporter. The U.S. remains the largest importer: despite the market volume there is decreasing, the volume of imports is on the rise. This indicates high dependency of the U.S. market on imports and its attractivity for foreign suppliers.

Besides the U.S., large European countries (Italy, France, Germany), as well as Japan, also demand for tangible imports, and the import prices are relatively high. Therefore, those countries also constitute promising markets for steel fitting suppliers.

China Supplied X% of Global Tube or Pipe Fittings Exports

In 2017, the volume of global exports totaled X tons, with a mixed trend pattern over the last few years. A pronounced decline over the period from 2007 to 2009 was followed by recovery over the next five years; however, it turned downward again in 2015, levelling off through to 2017. In value terms, exports amounted to $X in 2017, bouncing back by X% over the last year, after a decline over the previous two years.

China (X tons) was the main global supplier of tube or pipe fittings (of iron or steel) with a share of X% of global exports. It was distantly followed by Italy (X tons), India (X tons), Korea (X tons), Germany (X tons), the U.S. (X tons), and Saudi Arabia (X tons), comprising X% of global exports.

From 2007 to 2017, exports from China grew by an average +X% per year, however, the fastest growing suppliers among the major exporters was Saudi Arabia (+X% per year). The other countries experienced more modest or even negative paces of growth. While the shares of China (+X percentage points), India (+X percentage points) and Saudi Arabia (+X percentage points) increased, the share of Korea showed negative dynamics. The shares of the other countries remained relatively stable over the period under review.

The U.S. Remains the Largest Global Importer of Tube or Pipe Fittings

The volume of global imports totaled X tons or $X in 2017. Imports trend pattern generally mirrored that of exports: these trade flows globally complement each other.

In 2017, the U.S. (X tons) constituted the leading destination of tube or pipe fittings (of iron or steel) imports, comprising X% of global imports. Imports into the U.S. expanded with a CAGR of +X% per year over the last ten years. It was followed by Canada (X tons), Germany (X tons), Saudi Arabia (X tons), Japan (X tons), Pakistan (X tons) and Korea (X tons), making up X% of global imports.

Amongst the major importing countries, Pakistan (+X% per year) gained the highest annual growth rates from 2007 to 2017. The other countries experienced more modest or even negative paces of growth. While the shares of the U.S. (+X percentage points), and Pakistan (+X percentage points) increased, the shares of the other countries remained relatively stable over the period under review.

Do you want to know more about the global tube or pipe fitting market? Get the latest trends and insight from our report. It includes a wide range of statistics on

• tube or pipe fitting market share
• tube or pipe fitting prices
• tube or pipe fitting industry
• tube or pipe fitting sales
• tube or pipe fitting import
• tube or pipe fitting export
• tube or pipe fitting market forecast
• tube or pipe fitting price forecast
• key tube or pipe fitting producers

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Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform