TUBE 2014
The steel tubing industry continues its worldwide growth trajectory After a sharp drop in 2009, overall industry output grew significantly for the third
year in a row in 2012. T
he record for total production was broken once again in 2012, with output climbing by 6% to 150 million tons, according to the German Steel Tube Association in Düsseldorf However, this growth was limited to areas outside the EU.
For example, production in China far outstripped the average and increased by 11% to 74 million tons, and, as a result, China now accounts for nearly half of total global steel tube production. On the flipside, a production increase of just 2.3% to nearly 76 million tons remains for steel tube producers outside China.
However, European steel tube manufacturers were not able to partake at all in this growth due to a depressed economic climate and weak demand, especially in Southern Europe. Production in the EU actually decreased from 14.1 to 13.8 million tons. The German steel tubing industry was also
Just over half of all tubes and pipes produced are destined for the transport of oil or gas. While seamless and welded steel tubes are used for the extraction and processing of oil and gas, the transport of liquids and gases relies mostly on welded pipes
Figure 1: World steel tube production trend from 2003 to 2012
affected by this negative trend. Its 2012 output, according to the association, came in at 3.14 million tons, a decline of 3% compared to the prior year.
The energy sector has long provided critical momentum for both the international and the German steel tubing industry. And this area continues to be the largest market for steel tubes and pipes: Just over half of all tubes and pipes produced are destined for the transport of oil or gas. While seamless and welded steel tubes are used for the extraction and processing of oil and gas, the transport of liquids and gases relies mostly on welded pipes. The economic upswing, especially during the first half of 2011, led to an increase in the demand for oil and thus to record numbers of oil and gas
drilling projects. The demand for OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) mirrored this positive trend. Other important key market sectors include automotive manufacturing, mechanical engineering, power plant construction, as well as the chemical, petrochemical and construction sectors. Accordingly, essential growth impulses for the German steel tubing industry in 2011 came from mechanical engineering, the automotive and chemical industry and the construction sector. The association reports that the wind energy sector is gaining in importance, specifically due to the demand for steel tubes used in the offshore foundations of wind power stations. In the area of energy tubes for power plant construction, stable demand abroad stood in contrast to weaker domestic business.
www.internationalmetaltube.com
Even though there had been a number of production losses in the seamless and large-diameter tube segments, German steel tube production increased by 1.4% to 3.2 million tons in 2011. Germany lost the title as the largest steel tube producer in the EU to Italy because Italy was able to increase its output by 8% to 3.3 million tons in the same period. Nearly the entire German production – 3.0 million tons, 2.1% more than the year before – had been exported. Exports to countries outside the EU compensated at least partially for weakening demand, particularly from the southern European countries. Imports to Germany increased by a significant 11.8%, to 2.2 million tons. Italy, which was able to increase its exports to Germany – as were France and Spain – was by far the largest
IMT February/March 2014 15
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