The iron and steel industry accounted for over 68% of the global refractory materials market in 2015. As the industry is the largest end user of refractory materials, the market is highly dependent on the performance of the industry. Refractory materials are used in blast furnaces, air and process gas heaters, basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) vessels, steel and torpedo ladles, troughs, reformers, and electric arc furnaces.
According to Swapnil Tejveer Sharma, a lead metals and minerals research analyst at Technavio, “The iron and steel industry is key to other industries like construction, automotive, aerospace, and industrial machinery, and demand from these will affect the demand for refractory materials considerably.”
APAC is the leading consumer of refractory materials for the iron and steel industry. China (which accounts for about half of global steel production), Japan, and India are among the leading producers of iron and steel. The abundant presence of raw materials, along with other factors like low labor cost and the presence of suitable facilities for expansion of this industry, has helped the growth of the iron and steel industry in China. Europe and the Americas come next in the use of refractory materials for the iron and steel industry.
The non-metallic materials segment accounted for 17.6% of the global market in 2015. The segment includes the manufacturing industries of materials like glass, lime, cement, and ceramics, which find considerable application in construction, automotive, aerospace, and solar panels. It is the fastest-growing industry market due to the high demand from consumers for end products that use non-metallic materials.
The increase in disposable income worldwide has resulted in the increase in demand for automobiles and residential and commercial buildings. With the rise in global population, there is the need for new buildings and residential. APAC is again the largest market for refractory materials in the non-metallic materials industry. China and India are the top two producers of cement globally. The cement produced there are used in the domestic real-estate and construction markets. The US comes next in the consumption of refractory materials for the non-metallic materials industry.
Source: Busienss Wire