Metal Casting Market Expected to Reach $226.8 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Metal Casting Market," The metal casting market was valued at $129.5 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $226.8 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2022 to 2031.

Metal casting is the process of making objects by pouring molten metal into an empty shaped space. The metal then cools and hardens into the form given to it by this shaped mold. Metal casting is used in various end-use sectors including automotive, electrical and electronics, building and construction, heavy machinery and equipment, aerospace, and others.

Increase in investments in building infrastructure in countries such as the U.S., China, Japan, Mexico, and India, have led the building & construction sector to witness significant growth where metal casting process is widely employed for designing and production of both interior and exterior metallic structures, window frames, and others. Furthermore, factors such as increasing disposable income, technological upgrades, and spurring rise in original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have led the automotive sector to witness a significant growth. Metal castings are widely used in automotive sector for producing various automotive parts of different shapes. For instance, metal die castings are used in producing alloy wheels, body frames, pistons, engine blocks, valve covers, carburetors, fan clutches, and others. This is anticipated to fuel the growth of the metal casting market during the forecast period.

However, casting involves several processes such as melting of metal, transferring the molten metal to mold cavity, and solidification of molten metal. These processes require a relatively large amount of heat energy. Furthermore, the overall process consists of different sophisticated equipment that are fabricated to work at high temperature application. These factors make metal casting an expensive process, which in turn may restrain manufacturers with less investment potential to enter into metal casting market.

On the contrary, rapid technological advancements coupled with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and machine learning (ML) technologies have surged the demand for various consumer electronic devices. Metal casting solutions are widely used in electronics sector for producing three-dimensional parts. Furthermore, key electronic manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Apple, and others, are using metal casting owing to its advantages such as quick yield of complexes, preciseness, and production of rigid cast parts with smooth surfaces that do not need intense secondary machining. These factors have surged the popularity of metal castings in the growing electronics sector; thus, creating remunerative opportunities for the market.

The metal casting market is segmented on the basis of process, end-use industry, and region. By process, the market is segregated into sand casting, investment casting, die casting, gravity casting, and others. The sand casting segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2021, with 31.65% of the total share. This is attributed to increasing spending in both developed and developing economies for producing advanced fighter jets with modern armor facilities, which in turn have surged the demand for sand castings used for producing aircraft pistons, bearings, and other aircraft parts.

By end-use industry, the market is divided into automotive, heavy machinery and equipment, defense, electrical and electronics, building and construction and others. The automotive segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2021, with 38.96% of the total share. This is attributed to the increasing disposable income coupled with spurring rise in original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which in turn have led the automotive sector to witness a significant growth where metal casting is widely used to produce engine blocks, pistons, brake drums, carburetors, and other automotive parts. This factor has fueled the demand for metal casting for automotive end-use industry.

Region-wise, the metal casting market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific metal casting market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, and accounted for a major metal casting market share in 2021, owing to rise in building & construction, electrical and electronics, and other sectors that have enhanced demand for metal casting in the Asia-Pacific region.

China's automotive manufacturing sector is increasing rapidly which has forced the metal casting manufacturers to produce more efficient metal casting used for design and production of various automotive parts and equipment. Furthermore, the electrical and electronics sector in India is witnessing a significant growth where metal casting is used to produce various electrical and electronic components with excellent finish and accurate dimensions. For instance, according to a report published by Indian Brands Equity Foundation in May 2022, India's home electrical and electronics exports increased at a healthy rate of 9% in 2021.

Key players operating in the global metal casting market include Ahresty Corporation, Aisin World Corp. of America, Dawang Steel Casting Foundry, Dynacast International, Endurance Technologies Limited, Georg Fischer Ltd, GIBBS, Gujarat Precision Cast Pvt. Ltd, MINO Industry USA, Inc, NEMAK, Omnidex Group, Rheinmetall Ag, RFQLINE, INC, RYOBI DIE CASTING, and Sujan Industries.

COVID-19 analysis

The metal casting market is expected to recover rapidly post COVID-19 situation due to its increased dependency over automotive, aerospace, marine, and other sectors. For instance, according to an article published by Financial Express, the Indian automotive industry registered a growth of 15% in 2021, and is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 18.6% by 2025. This is expected to enhance the performance of the metal casting market post- COVID-19 scenario. Furthermore, as the lockdowns have been lifted during the second-half of the pandemic, the manufacturing sectors have resumed their operations where metal castings are widely used for designing and production of metal parts and equipment of various dimensions. This factor is projected to aid the growth of the metal casting market during the forecast period.

Moreover, the increasing adoption of working online or work from home mode have surged the demand for a wide range of electronic devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and others where metal casting process is used for designing and producing outer shell and internal electronic parts of these devices. For instance, according to an article published by the Times of India in January 2021, the Indian smartphone market registered 27% year-on-year growth in 2021 as compared to 2020 owing to increasing shipments of smartphones in 2021. This factor has augmented the growth of the metal casting market.

Key findings of the study

• By process, the sand casting segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 6.2% from 2022 to 2031.
• By end-use industry, the automotive end-use industry segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 6.3% from 2022 to 2031.
• By region, Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 63.8% in 2021, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 6.2%.