Welcome to Sinostar Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd.
Welcome to Sinostar Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd.
On May 18, 2025, during the "21st Annual Meeting of China Foundry Association", China Foundry Association released the "2024 China Foundry Industry Data". Wang Dongsheng, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Foundry Association, released the data and interpreted it in detail. The release of this data is like a mirror, clearly reflecting the complex changes in China's foundry industry in terms of output, imports and exports, and downstream demand in 2024, providing an important reference for the future development of the industry.
In 2024, the total output of all kinds of castings in China was 50.75 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2%. From the bar chart of casting output and growth rate in recent years, we can intuitively see that the output shows a certain fluctuation trend. In the past few years, although the output has increased in some years, it has declined significantly in 2024. This phenomenon is not accidental, but the result of the combined effect of multiple factors.
Changes in market demand are one of the key factors affecting casting output. With the adjustment of the global economic structure, the demand for castings in different industries has changed. For example, the overcapacity of some traditional manufacturing industries has led to a decrease in the demand for castings. Fluctuations in the supply of raw materials have also brought challenges to casting production. The foundry industry is highly dependent on raw materials such as iron ore and coke. The rise in raw material prices and unstable supply have increased production costs and limited the production scale of enterprises. The tightening of environmental protection policies has also had a profound impact on the industry. In order to achieve green development, the government has continuously increased its environmental protection requirements for foundry companies. Some companies that do not meet environmental protection standards have been forced to suspend production and rectify, which has led to a decline in production to a certain extent.
The data on the output of castings by material also reflects the continuous adjustment of the product structure within the industry. The output of major materials such as gray cast iron, ductile iron, and malleable cast iron will change to varying degrees in 2024. The output of some materials will decrease, while the output of aluminum (magnesium) alloys will increase by 4.7%. This change reflects the market's increased demand for lightweight and high-strength materials. In order to adapt to market changes, companies have adjusted their production strategies and increased their investment in the research and development and production of new materials such as aluminum (magnesium) alloys.
From the data of the top 10 countries and regions for export of 13 tariff codes from 2020 to 2024, the United States, South Korea, Australia and other countries have always been the main export destinations for Chinese castings. The United States ranks first in terms of export volume and share in most years, but its export share in 2024 has slightly dropped from 11.3% in 2023 to 11.2%. Behind this subtle change, there may be factors such as adjustments in domestic economic policies in the United States and the rise of trade protectionism. The US government may introduce some policies to support its foundry industry and reduce its dependence on imported castings, which will have a certain impact on the export of Chinese castings.
South Korea's export share increased in 2024, from 5.0% to 5.6%. This is due to the stable development of the Korean economy and the continued demand for castings in its manufacturing industry. South Korea has strong competitiveness in industries such as automobiles and electronics, and the development of these industries cannot be separated from the support of castings. Chinese castings have gained more market share in South Korea with their reliable quality and reasonable price. The changes in the export share of different countries and regions reflect the dynamic adjustment of international market demand and the changes in the competitiveness of Chinese casting enterprises in different markets. Chinese casting enterprises need to formulate differentiated marketing strategies according to the characteristics of different markets to increase market share.
The export situation in various continents shows different trends. Asia has always been the main export continent for Chinese black castings, with a share fluctuating between 40% and 42.5%, and an increase of 30.5% in 2024 compared with 2023. The rapid economic development in Asia, especially the infrastructure construction and manufacturing development in Southeast Asia and South Asia, has greatly increased the demand for black castings. China is geographically close to Asian countries, with convenient transportation and frequent trade, which makes Chinese castings highly competitive in the Asian market.
The export share of North America is between 14% and 20.1%, and an increase of 21.8% in 2024 compared with 2023. Although the United States has introduced some trade protection policies, the overall demand for castings in North America is still large. Chinese casting companies have offset the negative impact of trade protectionism to a certain extent by improving product quality and optimizing services. Europe's export share is relatively stable at 18% - 19.2%, with an increase of 19.0% in 2024. As an important base for global manufacturing, Europe has high quality and technical requirements for castings. In the process of continuously improving its own technical level, Chinese casting companies have gradually met the needs of the European market, and the export volume has grown steadily.
South America's export volume in 2024 fell by 17.8% compared with 2023, which may be related to the economic instability and political turmoil in some South American countries. Economic instability has led to reduced corporate investment and slowed infrastructure construction, thereby reducing the demand for castings. Australia has a 28.3% increase. Australia's mining, agriculture and other industries have a certain demand for castings. Chinese castings have continued to expand their share in the Australian market with their cost-effective advantages. These changes are closely related to factors such as the economic development of each continent, infrastructure construction needs and trade policies.
Compared with the export data of the traditional 13 tariff codes from 2020 to 2024, the export volume in 2024 increased by 23.0% compared with 2023, reaching 2,041,996,361 kg. However, the dollar value only increased by 11.0% to US$3,511,668,925, while the unit price fell by 9.8% to US$1.72/kg. This data shows that while the export volume of Chinese castings increases, they may face price competition pressure.
On the one hand, with the development of the global foundry industry, more and more countries have joined the ranks of casting production and export, and market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Some emerging foundry countries, relying on their low labor costs and abundant resources, have seized market share with low-price strategies, bringing huge competitive pressure to Chinese casting companies. On the other hand, Chinese casting companies still need to strengthen their technological innovation and brand building. Some companies still mainly produce low-end castings, with serious product homogeneity and lack of core competitiveness. They can only attract customers by lowering prices. In order to improve profitability in the international market, companies need to work hard to improve product quality and added value, increase investment in technology research and development, cultivate independent brands, and enhance the differentiated competitive advantages of products.
The automotive industry is still the largest demand user for castings, accounting for 29.7% of automotive castings in 2024. Judging from the demand data for castings in downstream industries from 2020 to 2024, the demand in the automotive industry will have a slight decrease of -1.0% in 2024 compared with 2023, but it still maintains a high proportion. The development of the automotive industry is closely related to factors such as the macroeconomic environment and consumer demand. With the slowdown in the development of the global economy and the rise of new energy vehicles, the traditional fuel vehicle market has been hit to a certain extent, and the demand for castings has also decreased. However, the development of new energy vehicles has also brought new opportunities to the casting industry. For example, the demand for lightweight castings in new energy vehicles has increased, and companies can adjust product research and development and production in response to this trend.
The demand for internal combustion engines, agricultural machinery, engineering machinery and other industries fluctuates to varying degrees. The demand for engineering machinery increased by 8.1% in 2024, mainly due to the continuous advancement of global infrastructure construction. Many countries and regions have increased their investment in infrastructure such as transportation and energy, which has driven the development of the engineering machinery industry and increased the demand for castings. However, mining and metallurgical heavy machinery fell by 1.9%, which may be related to the cyclical fluctuations in the mining market. The sluggish mining market has led to a decrease in the demand for equipment by mining and metallurgical companies, which has affected the demand for castings. These changes reflect the impact of the development trends of different downstream industries on the casting industry. Casting companies need to pay close attention to the dynamics of downstream industries and adjust production plans and product structures in a timely manner.
Although there is no specific export data for January-March 2025, some preliminary prospects can be made based on the data in 2024 and the current international economic situation and industry development trends. With the gradual recovery of the global economy, the demand for castings in the international market may increase. In order to stimulate economic growth, the governments of many countries have increased their investment in infrastructure construction, which will drive the demand for castings. At the same time, with the continuous advancement of science and technology, the development of some emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and new energy will also generate new demand for castings.
However, while facing opportunities, Chinese foundry companies are also facing many challenges. The rise of trade protectionism is an issue that cannot be ignored. In order to protect their own industries, some countries may introduce more stringent trade policies, set up trade barriers, and restrict the import of Chinese castings. The fluctuation of raw material prices has also brought great cost pressure to enterprises. The rise in the prices of raw materials such as iron ore and coke will increase the production costs of enterprises and compress profit margins.
In order to cope with future challenges and opportunities, Chinese foundry companies need to further strengthen technological innovation and improve product quality and environmental protection standards. By increasing R&D investment and introducing advanced technology and equipment, the production process and product performance of enterprises can be improved. At the same time, it is necessary to optimize the product structure, increase the R&D and production of high-end castings and castings in emerging fields, and increase the added value of products. Expanding emerging markets is also an important direction for the development of enterprises. In addition to the traditional European, American and Asian markets, enterprises can pay attention to the needs of emerging markets such as Africa and the Middle East and open up new market space.
In 2024, China's foundry industry will present a complex trend of changes in production, imports and exports, and downstream demand. The slight decline in production, changes in export structure and prices, and fluctuations in downstream industry demand have brought new challenges to foundry companies. These changes require foundry companies to pay close attention to market trends and actively adjust their development strategies.
In future development, the industry needs to strengthen self-discipline and promote industrial upgrading. Enterprises should strengthen cooperation and exchanges, avoid vicious competition, and jointly enhance the overall competitiveness of the industry. At the same time, efforts should be made to increase technological innovation and talent training to improve the industry's independent innovation capabilities. The government and industry associations should also play an active role in providing policy support and industry guidance. The government can introduce relevant policies to encourage enterprises to carry out technological transformation and green development, and increase support for the foundry industry. Industry associations can organize enterprises to carry out technical exchange activities, strengthen the formulation and promotion of industry standards, and jointly promote the healthy development of China's foundry industry. Only in this way can China's foundry industry occupy a more advantageous position in the global market and achieve the goal of sustainable development.
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