Global metal fabrication market set to grow

A new report from Technavio, a market research company with global coverage, has found the global metal fabrication market is set to grow significantly in the years to 2020, thanks to rising investments in infrastructure projects and the increase in demand for metal cutting tools from the manufacturing industry.

Metal fabrication is the value added process of creating metal structures from raw materials through bending, cutting and assembling. This process is mainly used in the construction and manufacturing industries; however, this new report suggests there could be new demand for metal fabrication from aerospace and defence industries because they use fabricated metal sheets. As equipment becomes more energy efficient and products gain new features and technologies, this demand will only grow.

This is good news for the Asia-Pacific region, which is the leading market for metal fabrication thanks to significant spending on industrial projects, and rising demand for iron and steel by construction industries. The evolution of laser cutting technology is also having an impact on the growth of the sector, particularly in manufacturing where the new technology can work faster than conventional machines.

Not all good news

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news though as the report comes on the back of warnings by the Australian Steel Association (ASA) about plans to tighten anti-dumping legislation. The Labor Party has been looking into what they described as cheap Asian steel dumped on the Australian market, and while the ASA has applauded this decision, there are fears that this will result in higher tariffs, which will mostly affect small scale fabricators. The focus of the legislation is on steel production rather than the value-adders, who the ASA said have been neglected.

Despite this, the report from Technavio gives a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the global metal fabrication market, pointing to improving economies, wage growth, low unemployment levels, and low interest rates as things that will positively impact the sector.

All about ShapeCUT

ShapeCUT has been providing quality steel profile cutting and metal processing to metal fabricators and manufacturers for 20 years. Today we are one of Australia’s leading providers, offering everything from intricate one-off designs to heavy bulk orders. You can rely on us at ShapeCUT for quality, precision and speed, which is why we offer customised solutions and same-day service.