Seamless steel tubes have hollow cross-sections and are widely used as pipes for transporting fluids, such as oil, natural gas, coal gas, water and certain solid materials.
Compared with solid steel such as round steel, steel pipe has lighter weight when the bending and torsional strength are the same, and it is an economical cross-section steel. It is widely used in the manufacture of structural parts and mechanical parts, such as oil drill pipes, automobile drive shafts, bicycle frames, and steel scaffolding used in construction. The use of steel pipes to manufacture annular parts can improve material utilization, simplify the manufacturing process, save materials and processing time, and has been widely used in steel pipe manufacturing.
Current status of seamless steel pipes industry
According to the "In-depth Research Report on the Operation Status and Investment Planning of China's Seamless Steel Pipe Industry from 2024 to 2029", the market size of seamless steel pipes will continue to expand in 2024, and the global market size is expected to reach 660.123 billion yuan (approximately US$95 billion), with a compound annual growth rate of 5.99%. Asia Pacific will account for 31% of the market share in 2024. The expansion of the oil & gas industry, automotive, and chemical industries in the region has contributed to the growth of the product in the region. As one of the world's major producers and consumers of seamless steel pipes, China's market size continues to grow and is expected to reach approximately US$118.9 billion in 2024.
In recent years, China's seamless steel pipe output has maintained at a high level. However, affected by factors such as declining industry profits and intensified market competition, the output of seamless steel pipes in the first half of 2024 showed a certain degree of decline. Specifically, the national seamless steel pipe output in the first half of 2024 was weaker than the same period in previous years. According to the analysis of the development status of the seamless steel pipe industry, the annual seamless pipe output in 2024 will be about 29.8 million tons, and the capacity utilization rate will be about 66%. Specifically, the national seamless steel pipe output in the first half of 2024 was weaker than the same period in previous years. According to the analysis of the development status of the seamless steel pipe industry, the annual seamless pipe output in 2024 will be about 29.8 million tons, and the capacity utilization rate will be about 66%.
In terms of seamless steel pipe production capacity, China's seamless steel pipe production capacity has increased year by year in recent years. According to the analysis data on the development status of the seamless steel pipe industry, China's seamless pipe production capacity will be approximately 44.63 million tons in 2022, and the seamless steel pipe production capacity will increase by 800,000 tons to 45.43 million tons in 2023. It is estimated that the new capacity of seamless steel pipes will reach more than 42 million tons in 2024. However, despite the increase in capacity, the capacity utilization rate has remained at a low level. This is mainly due to factors such as intensified industry competition and insufficient market demand.
Future development trend and prospects of seamless steel pipes
1. Technological innovation
The core technologies of seamless steel pipe production are rolling and perforation, both of which require a lot of capital investment. In the future, in order to reduce production costs and improve production efficiency, the seamless steel pipes industry will continue to innovate in technology. For example, more advanced rolling equipment and perforating equipment are used, new steel materials are developed, and the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of steel pipes are enhanced, so as to meet the needs of different industries for seamless steel pipe products.
2. Exploration of market demand
The market prospect for seamless steel pipes in the future is very broad, and the focus is on developing new market demands. For example, as global energy demand continues to grow, the application of seamless steel pipes in the fields of oil, natural gas, etc. will become more and more extensive. In addition, with the continuous development of the automotive industry, construction industry and other fields, the application scope of seamless steel pipes is also expanding. There are also some emerging demands, such as special applications of seamless steel pipes such as steel underwater piles and fire source plugs, and these market prospects are also extremely broad.
3. Development of Environmental Protection Industry
In today's world, green economy has become a global hot topic. In the future, with the development of the environmental protection industry, the demand for environmentally friendly steel will continue to increase. In this field, seamless steel pipes, as an environmentally friendly product, have a large application space in energy pipelines, wastewater treatment equipment, low-pressure pipelines, etc. Therefore, we can foresee that the production and application of seamless steel pipes in the field of environmental protection will have huge potential and market prospects.
4. National policy support
Policy factors also have an important impact on the growth and development of the seamless steel pipe industry. In recent years, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies to encourage the development of the steel industry, such as strengthening environmental protection supervision and promoting scientific and technological innovation. The introduction of these policies will undoubtedly provide more opportunities and space for the production and application of the seamless steel pipe industry.
