Global Hand Tools Market - the U.S. Emerges As the Largest Market for Imports

IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Hand Tools - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025". Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The Hand Tool Market Remained Practically Unchanged from the Previous Year’s Figure

In 2016, the global hand tools market amounted to $30.4B in wholesale prices. This figure reflects the total revenue of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). The market value has remained relatively flat over the last three years; previously, the sharp drop of 2009 was followed by a recovery from 2010-2011, after which the market retained a relatively static trend pattern through to 2016.

The Global Consumption of Hand Tools Is Expected to Reach $38.7B by 2025

Hand tools are mainly used in construction and to repair various types of transport. The expansion of the construction sector, along with the growth of the automotive industry in the U.S. and the rapidly developing countries of Asia, are the key factors affecting the world market of hand tools. The U.S. car repair industry experienced growth against increased car sales  and enhanced vehicle use, following low fuel prices, the expansion of retail trade and higher household incomes, prompting demand for personal trips and freight transportation. Asia is expected to remain the fastest-growing region in the global market of hand tools, due to the active processes of urbanization and an increase in the population's standard of living. 

On the other hand, the market will be affected by some constraints, mainly by the increased competition from substitute products, such as power tools. Some of the major trends in the global hand tool market will result in a more user-friendly design of hand tools and an appearance of multi-featured hand tools on the global market. In view of the factors mentioned above, the global hand tool market is expected to accelerate, with an average +2.7% annual growth in the medium term, which will lead market to $38.7B by 2025.

The U.S. Alone Comprise approx. 23% of Global Hand Tool Consumption 

In 2016, the U.S. (23%), Korea (7%), India (5%), Thailand (5%) and China (5%) constituted the countries with the highest consumption of hand tools in the world. The highest annual rates of growth with regard to hand tools consumption from 2007 to 2016 were recorded in Korea, with a +4.5% growth, and China, with a +3.3% growth. Korea (+2 percentage points) and China (+1 percentage point) slightly strengthened their shares in terms of global consumption from 2007 to 2016. 

Amongst the leading consuming countries, high levels of per capita consumption were recorded in Korea ($45.9 per year in 2016), Thailand ($23.1 per year) and the U.S. ($21.5 per year), which were significantly higher than the world average of $4.1 per year. The annual growth of per capita consumption from 2007 to 2016 was the most notable in Korea, with a +4.0% growth.

Hand Tool Production Reduced Slightly in Value Terms

The production of hand tools accounted for $30.9B in 2016. In 2009, the value of hand tool production decreased by 21%, due to a slump in construction and spending, affected by the economic crisis. However, it rapidly recovered over the period from 2010 to 2011 and then flattened with only mild fluctuations though 2016. The production volume remained stable over the last year, amounting to 4.3M tonnes in 2016. Unlike production in value terms, following a noticeable slump from 2008-2009, the volume of production failed to return to its pre-crisis figure, and after recovering slightly, it once again contracted in 2012, and then remained at this lower indicator. 

China Remains the Major Producer of Hand Tools, with the Volume of Production Expanding Rapidly 

China was the key world hand tools producing country, with an output of about $6.8B in 2016, which accounted for 22% of total global output. The other major producers were the U.S. (16%), Korea (7%), India (6%), Thailand (5%). 

In China, production levels increased by 70% from 2007 to 2016, growing with a CAGR of +6.1%, which was largely attributed to favorable economic conditions and the growth of industrial activity. In Korea and India, production levels experienced a more moderate growth of +3.9% and +2.3%, respectively, over the same period, while the other major leaders indicated a negative dynamic. 

More than Half of the Hand Tools Produced Were Exported

Hand tools are a widely traded commodity, with the share of export in total global output standing at approx. 58% in 2016. The high trade intensity is determined mainly by the significant distance between the main production centres and the key consumer countries, the difference in the various hand tools available, and their quality. 

China Strengthened Its Leadership in Terms of Global Hand Tool Exports

In 2016, the value of global exports totaled almost $17.8B, with a mixed trend pattern over the last few years. A gradual increase over the period from 2007 to 2008 was followed by a steep decline in 2010. Over the next two years, the value of global exports recovered and then retained a static pattern, with mild fluctuations through to 2016. 

China ($5,830M in 2016), Germany ($2,042M), Taiwan (Chinese) ($1,896M) and the U.S. ($1,380M) were the main global suppliers of hand tools, with a combined share of 63% of global exports. From 2007 to 2016, China (+6.8% per year) emerged as the fastest growing supplier amongst the major exporters; the other countries indicated a relatively immutable trend in terms of export patterns.

The U.S. Remains the Largest Market for Imported Hand Tools

The value of global imports totaled $17.3B in 2016. The imports trend pattern generally mirrored that of exports: the trade flows globally complement each other. 

In 2016, the U.S. ($3,254M), Germany ($1,382M), the UK ($781M), France ($633M), the Netherlands ($633M), Canada ($602M) and China ($496M) constituted the leading destinations in terms of hand tools imports, together comprising 46% of global imports. Amongst the major importing countries, the U.S. (+3.2% per year) and Germany (+2.1% per year) gained the highest annual rates of growth from 2007 to 2016. Consequently, the share of the U.S. in terms of global imports increased from 16% in 2007, to 19% in 2016, while the shares of the other countries remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

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

• hand tool market share
• hand tool prices
• hand tool production
• hand tool industry
• hand tool sales
• hand tool imports
• hand tool exports
• hand tool market forecast
• hand tool price forecast
• key hand tool producers

Source: IndexBox AI Platform