Global demand for the foundry product market

The metal casting process is applicable to all major metals that can be made into castings; common ones are iron, aluminum, magnesium, zinc, steel, and copper-based alloys. Metal castings are used in a wide range of applications such as in cars, trucks, planes, trains, mining and construction equipment, oil wells, pipes, toys, space shuttles, wind turbines, and nuclear plants. Manufacture of foundry products through the metal casting process is advantageous compared to other processes owing to its design flexibility, high production rate, and molding of large and complex parts.

Additionally, easy way of fabricating wrought or cast products into complex structures while producing lightweight sheet metal parts is another advantage of foundry products.Increase in need for infrastructure and power generation facilities is fuelling the foundry products market. Growth in the automotive industry in emerging economies such as Japan, China, and India is also driving the foundry products market. Expansion in the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) industry is also one of the factors propelling the foundry products market.

Furthermore, rise in technological innovations and rapid industrialization and urbanization are augmenting the foundry products market.Implementation of stringent government regulations, rise in import costs, and low capacity utilization are hampering the foundry products market.Based on product mix, the foundry products market can be segmented into grey iron, SG iron, non-ferrous, steel, and malleable, and others. The grey iron segment accounts for large share of the foundry products market owing to the wide use of grey iron in the automotive industry.Based on end-use industrial applications, the foundry products market can be split into automotive, sanitary, pipes and fittings, power industry, electrical equipment, machine tools, earth moving industry, and others.

The automotive segment accounts for major share of the market owing to the wide range of applications in automobiles. It is followed by sanitary and pipes and fittings segments.In terms of geography, the foundry products market can be segregated into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is a rapidly growing region of the foundry products market owing to the rise in urbanization, industrial expansion, and increase in investments in the automotive industry in emerging economies such as Japan, China, and India. China is the largest producer of metal castings in Asia Pacific. Europe follows Asia Pacific owing to the presence of the vast automotive industry base in the region.