Page 15 - ITAtube Journal 2 2024

Market information
in the residential construction sector fell sharply. This was particularly the case in North America and Europe, where building permits for residential buildings fell dra- matically. The infrastructure, energy and utilities and industrial sectors will continue to be the main drivers of construction output. There is also a lot of investment
in areas related to the energy transition, such as renewable energy projects and production facilities for the manufacture of electric vehicles and components.The market penetration of construction pipes is quite unevenly distributed globally and the growth pattern is highly dependent
on regional GDP growth. European coun- tries are struggling with weak GDP growth, which combined with construction cost increases is leading to slow construction activity. India and the USA, on the other hand, are reporting much more active construction investment due to their stronger GDP growth. China offers great potential for construction once the current real estate turmoil is under control. In the medium term, this market segment will also offer interesting opportunities for Europe again.
In North America and parts of Asia, pipe products are used extensively for build- ing construction. In Europe, on the other hand, standard concrete or steel struc- tures are still predominantly used. The pipe industry must continue to promote the advantages of pipe applications and demonstrate the architectural perspec- tives. Tubular profiles are an ideal choice when visible structures are desired due
to their versatile shapes and closed cross-sections in combination with smooth sides. The best mechanical properties and the ability to bridge large spans are further highlights of tubular profiles. In addition to round-shaped construction tubes, rectan- gular profiles dominate in architecture. Such profiles are usually cold-rolled and formed in so-called “Turk’s heads”. In this process, attention must be paid to the metallurgical properties of the edges. Gen- erally, unalloyed steel is used, but alloyed steels with their improved material prop- erties should also be considered. In terms of carbon footprint, pipe profiles are of great advantage as the steel used can be
ITAtube Journal July 2024
produced from metal scab in electric arc furnaces powered by green electricity.
A recent study published by Global Con- struction Perspective and Oxford Econom- ics entitled “Global Construction 2030” predicts an 85% increase in global con- struction output to 15.5 trillion by 2030, with the three countries China, USA and India leading the way and accounting for 57% of global growth alone. Europe, on the other hand, will slow down its pace of investment. There is room for additional production capacity for structural tubes, particularly in India, to keep up with the market trend.
Most pipe manufacturers were able to report greatly improved economic figures in 2023. However, the persistently higher energy costs and the additional CO2 levies adopted by the European Community pose major challenges for European pipe manufacturers. Some tube manufactur- ers are losing confidence in their ability
to compete on the global market with these additional costs in the future. As a consequence, some pipe manufacturers are even reducing their involvement in Europe.
New emerging market segments such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen pipelines will require larger quantities of alloyed pipes from 2025. In general, there is sufficient production capacity to meet the increasing demand for tubes for all market segments. Nevertheless, the trend towards producing close to customers will continue to have an impact on the land- scape for pipe manufacturers. Raw mate- rial prices for the steel and pipe industry appear to have stabilized. Nevertheless, the markets are nervous and have the potential for further fluctuations.
A further challenge could arise if the polit- ical measures to prevent climate change are not introduced in a balanced manner, which could result in the migration of industries with high energy consump- tion to regions with lower energy costs. However, as the balance of supply and demand in the pipe industry has largely been restored, price volatility has calmed down.
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