Feb 17 2011
With metal substrates being omnipresent in the world of mechanical engineering, metal stamping, forgings and castings, find widespread applications in diverse industries across the globe.
A critical industrial process indispensable with all types of manufacturing, metal stamping as a manufacturing service is heavily dependent on the manufacturing sector. With fortunes in this market closely tied to the metalworking industry, the recession not surprisingly pinched market prospects during the years 2008 and 2009. Slowdown in economic activity and the ensuing slump in industrial production resulted in sharp declines in metal stamping and forging activities.
General decline in demand for commodities/products as a result of reduced consumer disposable incomes, and shrinking household wealth, brought down machining needs in the manufacturing sector, thus resulting in lower demand for metal stampings and forgings. Job shops, and contract manufacturers witnessed lower inflow of new orders largely as a result of the weak downstream end-use markets, such as, automobile, construction, aerospace, and electrical appliance, all of which collapsed like pack of cards. Weak consumer demand for manufactured products resulted in raw material inventory buildup including stamped metal parts in the supply chain in most end-user industries. Reduction in orders compounded by delay in payments from tier I suppliers and OEMs, additionally exerted heavy downward pressure on bottomlines of forging companies. Metal stamping, forgings and castings market in developed countries caught in the epicenter of the recession fell harder than their developing counterparts.
Automotive metal stamping market, especially, came under the yoke of the recession as the automotive industry flattened out under the strain of the economic hardships. Lesser availability of credit, rising levels of unemployment, reduction in disposable incomes and household wealth, and falling consumer confidence have all resulted in lower sales of new vehicles in the years 2008 and 2009. As a result, production surpluses, plant closures, capacity idling, and scaling back of operating capacity at OEM plants, brought in reduced demand for stamped automotive parts. Low demand for oversized light trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which primarily consume large volumes of steel and metal, hurt the market. And the lingering recession backlash on consumer spending post recession will continue to challenge automotive metal stamping companies, as consumers migrate towards small, fuel-efficient cars and crossover utility vehicles, which require lesser metal content per vehicle. The effort to cut down vehicle weight for greater fuel efficiency and environmental benefits is forecast to grow stronger across the entire automotive supply chain, post recession when economic health aligns with environmental health. These factors will provide an inherently challenging business environment in the automotive metal stamping space. Paradoxically, opportunities will continue to exist for metal stamping companies experimenting with newer materials such as, lightweight alloys.
As stated by the new market research report, Europe and United States account for a major share of the global Metal Stampings, Forgings, and Castings market. During the post recession period, diverse application areas of metal stamping will provide a quick road to recovery. For instance, slower recovery of automotive and housing construction sectors will be offset by sturdy gains in renewable energy, medical, and farm machinery sector, among others. Demand from the construction equipment and machinery sector will be driven by rising number of housing starts, building construction, public works, such as airports, highways and sewer and water projects. While developed markets continue to stagnate, the geographic spread of production and sales of automotives and availability of cheaper labor in developing countries will present opportunities for growth. Global revenues for Metal Stampings are expected to surge at a CAGR of 1.5% during the analysis period.
Major players in the marketplace include Alcoa Inc., American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., Amtek Engineering Ltd., Anchor Lamina Inc., Bharat Forge Limited, Bohler-Uddeholm AG, Doncasters PLC, Georg Fischer Ltd., Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Magna International Inc., Meridian Technologies Inc., Metaldyne Corporation, Precision Castparts Corp., Wyman-Gordon, SeAH Besteel Corporation, Shiloh Industries Inc., Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., ThyssenKrupp AG, Tower Automotive Inc., Worthington Industries Inc, among others.
The research report titled “Metal Stampings, Forgings, and Castings: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections (in US$ Million) for major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Rest of World. Product segments independently analyzed include Metal Stampings, Metal Forgings (Iron & Steel Forgings, and Non-Ferrous Forgings), Ferro-Alloy Castings (Gray Iron Castings, Ductile Iron Castings, Malleable Iron Castings, Carbon Steel Castings, High Alloy Steel Castings, and Other Alloy Steel Castings), and Non-Ferrous Metal Castings (Aluminum Castings, Copper Castings, Lead Castings, Magnesium Castings, Zinc Castings, and Miscellaneous Castings).