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Market information
the oil market. Increased pumping and exploration activities are the primary driving forces of the mar- ket’s recovery in the US. If we believe the US experts, this trend will continue throughout 2018. And to a lesser degree European tube and pipe producers were also able to pro t from these develop- ments.
What measures are pipe produc- ers and plant equipment suppliers taking to overcome current dif - culties and to generate sustain- able business? Over-capacity is leading to consolidation in the steel tube industry. Several pipe producing companies are still looking into overcoming such capacity problems by closing pro- duction facilities with a question- able economic future.
Still, despite the remarkable boom in the US, globalization into markets with increased demand remains one of the key answers.
The Middle East and locations with major automotive production are to be considered. Besides this, shale gas exploration, deep-sea offshore exploration and oil sand exploration remain major chal- lenges for our industry.
Price competition from China and elsewhere demands further specialization in high-tech prod- ucts. This applies in particular to regions with high production costs. The producers seem to have evaluated their market approach and decided to serve commodities or high-tech products even if they only represent niches. Some coun- tries/regions have also installed trade barriers to limit imports from other countries.
Finally, every producer has to make permanent improvements to increase productivity and reduce production costs. Technology sup- pliers may nd interesting busi- ness opportunities in this eld.
VOSCO Management Consultancy
Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
Scharnhorststrasse 45 41063 Mönchengladbach Germany
Tel.: +49 2161 309 255 drgunthervoswinckel@vosco.de
ITA
International Tube Association
• Sole worldwide acting membership association for the tube & pipe industry
• Global network of tube & pipe engineers
• Publisher of ITAtube Journal with information on latest market development
• Host of regular conferences on tube & pipe industry
• Of cial industry partner of the Messe Düsseldorf Group for all its “Tube” shows worldwide
International Tube Association
Heinz-Ingenstau-Strasse 9 40474 Düsseldorf Germany
Tel.: +49 211 947-5650 Fax.: +49 211 947-3938
info@itatube.org www.itatube.org
CONFERENCE
www.itatube.org