The Global Market for Refractories is Projected to Reach 42.5 Million Tons by 2022

Projected Recovery in Iron, Steel & Cement Industries to Drive Long-Term Growth in Demand for Refractories, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry trends, growth drivers, market share, size and demand forecasts on the global Refractories market. The global market for Refractories is projected to reach 42.5 million tons by 2022, driven by the projected recovery of iron, steel and cement industries in view of the slated growth in infrastructure development in emerging markets.  

Refractories are mainly related to high temperature processing industries such as steel, cement and glass among others, and refractory materials are key to production of critical components such as castings. Since the need for refractories is directly proportional to the amount of metal and metal products processed, demand patterns closely follow the trends in industrial output. While immediate challenges faced by the market include anemic world GDP growth, sluggish gains in world industrial output, and a struggling iron and steel industry hit by weak demand and supply surpluses, the outlook for the future remains promising. Growth over the longer-term will be led by the higher than average rate of recovery in the construction sector in developing markets.

Despite the slowdown of the Chinese economy, the country will play a vital role as a large consumer of refractories supported by the continued use of conventional less sophisticated production technologies in steel and other manufacturing sectors that consume higher level of refractories. This is in stark contrast to developed markets such as the U.S., Japan and Europe where more efficient and advanced production technologies are employed. Although the iron and steel industries remain chief consumers of refractories, the coming years are forecast to witness an upsurge in demand for refractories in nonferrous and non-metallic mineral products production. Growth prospects are especially high for monolithic castables and preformed shapes that feature high performance and flexibility. Also, poised to benefit are Zircon/zirconia, silicon carbide extra-high alumina, and other more specialized refractory materials that offer strong performance in specific applications.

As stated by the new market research report on Refractories, led by China, Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing market worldwide with a CAGR of 3.6% over the analysis period. The slowdown in Chinese GDP growth and weak steel consumption in the county will continue to challenge refractories demand in the near term. However, over the long-term, increased government spending on infrastructure development to sustain the economy’s transition from export oriented growth to domestic consumption based growth will spur opportunities for growth. By form, demand for Monolithics & Other Forms of refractories is projected to grow at a faster rate than Bricks & Shapes refractory. High performance and flexibility aspects are expected to confer significant growth prospects for monolithic castables and preformed shapes.

Major players covered in the report include Acera Technology, Beijing Lier High-temperature Materials Co. Ltd., Chosun Refractories Co., Ltd., HarbisonWalker International, Imerys, Krosaki Harima Corporation, Magnesita Refratários SA, Magnezit Group, MINTEQ International, Inc., Puyang Refractories Group Co. Ltd., Qinghua Refractories, Refratechnik Group, RHI AG, Saint-Gobain S.A., SEEIF Ceramic, a.s., Shandong Luyang Share Co., Ltd., Shinagawa Refractories Co., Ltd., and Vesuvius plc, among others.

The research report titled "Refractories: A Global Strategic Business Report" announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections in volume and value terms for geographic markets such as the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East & Africa, and Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America). The report also analyzes the global and regional markets for refractories in volume and value terms by Form (Bricks & Shapes; and Monolithics & Others); and by Material (Clay Refractories; and Non-Clay Refractories). Global and regional markets for refractories are also analyzed in volume terms by end-use segment (Iron & Steel, Cement, Ceramics & Glass, and Others).

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