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commodity volume, and high- tech requirements. For the high- tech requirements, the decisive factors are the steel quality and the tube plant infrastructure. The steel quality for many high-tech steel tube applications is demand- ing with regard to chemistry and homogeneity.
The availability of such quality steel – with the required uniform- ity for welded tubes and pipes – in the form of steel strip and plates as well as billets for seamless tubes is limited and can create a signi cant hurdle to the supply of tubes and pipes to such high-tech markets.
In addition, tube plant infrastruc- ture, i.e. tube mills and nishing lines, as well as applied quality assurance is also of signi cant importance. And growing impor- tance is given to agile man- agement strategies regarding customer bene t, process and product quality enhancement by applying “Industry 4.0” measures. First interesting applications of “Industry 4.0” in the tube and pipe industry were presented by various speakers at the ITA Con- ference in Düsseldorf this April 2019.
Taking all of the abovementioned into consideration, it is remarka- ble how these industry develop- ments make their mark on world steel tube production.
Steel tube and pipe production was characterized by steady growth until 2015 when it topped a volume of more than 171 000 tons p.a. (Fig.14) The downturn in 2016 to 167 000 tons p.a. was mainly re ected in the US, CIS and ROW (rest of world). In 2017 the market turned around again, but China as the main tube and pipe producer lost about 6000 tons p.a., whilst all other coun-
Figure 12: Steel and Pipe Structures applied at the Shanghai World Financial Centre - Source: Applied steel structures
tries, especially the US, increased their production, thus offsetting China’s shortfall.
Fig 15 shows the breakdown for the relevant regions in more detail. The US in particular, helped by the trade policy offensive of President Trump, seized the advantage and grew production by about 4000 tons p.a. (+51% since 2016). In 2018, world steel tube production was on the up once more, domi- nated by a fast-recovering China (+2500 tons p.a. or +3%) and, again, the US (+1350 tons p.a. or +13%). All other countries evi- denced little or no growth.
More signi cant variations were again displayed by the market segment seamless pipes and tubes (Fig.16). This product segment is quite volatile. In just the two- year period from 2014 to 2016, global production volumes fell by about 10 000 tons (-20%). There was a modest recovery in 2018, when production increased by 4%. However, the severity of the pre- vious decline has meant that the industry has still not managed to reach 2012 production levels.
Figure 13: Izmit Bay Bridge Source: CIMTAS
Market information
Figure 14: World Steel Tube and Pipe Production (ktons) - Source: ITATube Journal/Wirtschafts- vereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
ITAtube Journal No2/May 2019
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