Metal Powder Market Size, Share, Global Market Research and Industry Forecast Report, 2019-2025 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

                                          
Industry Insights, Market Size, CAGR, High-Level Analysis: Metal Powder Market


The global metal powder market size was USD 3.37 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% in terms of revenue from 2019 to 2025. Increase in automotive and industrial component manufacturing output is anticipated to drive the demand for metal powders in the industries, which in turn is projected to fuel the market growth. Rising demand from component manufacturing owing to benefits such as reduced manufacturing time, cost efficiency, high volume capacity, less wastage, and recyclability is expected to further drive the growth. In comparison to casting, extrusion, forging, and machining; Powder metallurgy offers maximum raw material utilization and requires least amount of materials and energy.

Metal powder based components are extensively used in various end-use industries including automotive, industrial, electronics, firearms, and healthcare. Powder metallurgy is capable of producing structural, magnetic, and next generation high-performance parts and tribological components. The growth in end-use industries is anticipated to propel the demand for Powdered Metal (PM) parts during the forecast period.

Increasing sales of automotive components is a positive sign for the growth of the market for metal powder, for instance, the Indian auto component industry witnessed a growth rate of 18.3% from 2017 to 2018. With growing focus on lightweight and electric vehicles, the demand for metal powder is expected to spur in near future. The PM parts are largely used in the firearms industry for triggers, rifle bolt, and pistol breech block among others. In 2018, U.S. was the largest firearms producer in the world and witnessed a rise in production by 4.1% from 2017 to 2018.
Various powdered metal parts, such as intestinal stapler gear system, kidney dialysis spring seat, and osteoporosis pen ratchet find application in the medical industry while copings, partials, and bridges are used in the dental industry. Increasing healthcare spending is anticipated to propel the production of PM parts over the forecast period. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018, the healthcare spending in low and middle-income countries increased by 6% while it witnessed a rise by 4% in the high-income countries.

Material Insights of Metal Powder Market

Based on materials, the metal powder market is bifurcated into ferrous and non-ferrous. In 2018, ferrous segment accounted for a volume share of over 89% owing to increasing utilization of iron and steel powder for bearings and filter parts, magnetic materials, and friction parts in the automobile industry, and high strength and wear-resistant parts.

Iron powder is used for PM parts, welding, and other applications where PM parts constitute the largest share. According to the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), the North America iron powder shipments grew by 1% from 2017 to 2018. The demand for non-ferrous segment is anticipated to grow on account of increasing demand for copper, aluminum, and titanium powder. As per MPIF, the shipments of copper and aluminum powder increased by 2% each, from 2017 to 2018.

Titanium powder is gaining popularity in the aerospace as well as medical industries through Metal Injection Molding (MIM) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes. As a result, market players are investing in expanding their production capacities. For example, in October 2019, Sandvik inaugurated its titanium powder production plant in Sweden in order to meet growing demand from additive manufacturing.

Application Insights of Metal Powder Market

Based on application, the market is segmented into automotive, aerospace & defense, healthcare, and other applications including firearms, appliances, and oil and gas. Automotive accounted for the largest volume share in 2018, owing to the growing requirement for lightweight components offering low cost and superior performance of powder metallurgy.

In comparison to conventional methods, such as casting, forging, and stamping, the powder metallurgy is considered more energy-efficient. This is anticipated to boost the utilization of metal powder for manufacturing automotive components, such as carbon brushes, brakes, clutches, engine bearings, and filters. Automotive is a significant end-use industry for product demand and the increasing production of vehicles is expected to augment the market growth over the forecast period.

Aerospace and defense is another key end user, where additive manufacturing technology is gaining popularity. Considering the future growth prospects of the industry, the manufacturers are engaged in acquiring certifications for catering to aerospace and defense industry. For instance, in April 2019, Arcast Inc. and Arcast Materials Division received their certification for production and sales of metal powder and castings for aerospace industry. Also, in October 2019, Equispheres outperformed its first phase of powder testing for serving the aerospace, space, and defense industry.

Technology Insights of Metal Powder Market

Based on technology, the market is segmented based on press and sinter, metal injection molding, additive manufacturing, and others. The press and sinter is the most conventional method used for the production of powdered metal parts. The segment accounted for the largest market share of over 88% in terms of revenue, in 2018. The press and sinter technology is capable of producing large volume at low cost with wide range of materials.
MIM is also capable of producing large volume with wide range of materials at a slightly higher cost, however, unlike press and sinter, it is has the ability to make complex parts with higher density, elongation, hardness, tensile strength, and surface finish. As a result, the MIM technology segment is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period.

Additive manufacturing is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period. Although it constitutes an extremely meagre share in terms of volume, its demand is rapidly projected to witness rapid rise on account of the technological advancements. In comparison to other technologies, AM produces less number of parts at a high cost, but, it gives the freedom of design, manufacturing parts with high complexity, and allows modification in the design and does not require molds.

Growing demand for AM parts has encouraged the market players to invest and expand production capacities. For instance, in 2018, General Electric International announced about its investment of USD 50 million in its Alabama facility for producing 3D print fuel nozzles and engines. Increasing production of 3D printed parts is a positive sign for the global market for metal powder.

Regional Insights of Metal Powder Market

North America is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR, in terms of volume over the forecast period, due to the growth in the manufacturing segment along with advancements in the AM industry. U.S. is the major regional consumer of metal powder, where growing production of automotive components is anticipated to propel the market growth. Also, the production for PM parts is expected to increase in other sectors including lawn and garden, commercial, off-road, and agriculture. In March 2019, Flex-N-Gate opened a facility for producing automotive parts in Detroit for Ford.

Europe is anticipated to register the second fastest CAGR of 7.0% in terms of revenue, over the forecast period. The production of PM parts increased by 3% from 2014 to 2015 and reached 235 kilotons with major consumption from structural parts and bearings, followed by hard materials, diamond tools, semi parts, and sintered magnets. The structural parts are majorly used in automotive, machinery, and electrical appliances and growth in the end-use industries is anticipated to spur the regional demand. For example, in 2018, DrAxlmaier opened a new automotive components plant in Moldova.

Asia Pacific was the largest segment in 2018 and it is anticipated to continue its dominance over the forecast period. The regional production of PM parts has witnessed a positive trend during the past three years (from 2016 to 2018), which is expected to continue on account of growth in the regional manufacturing segment. China is the major consumer while India is the fastest growing country in the regional market. The PM parts production increased by 10% from 2017 to 2018 in India.

Market Share Insights of Metal Powder Market

HíganAs AB, GKN, CNPC Powders, Pometon Powders, Sandvik AB, and Rio Tinto Metal Powders are the key manufacturers, with Hí¶ganAs AB capturing the largest market share. The key players are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisition and capacity expansion for strengthening their market position and expanding their regional presence.

In November 2018, SMS Group commenced operations at its first plant for producing high quality metal powder for catering to the 3D printing industry.Also, in 2018, Uddeholm opened a new production plant for metal powders used for 3D printed industrial tools, worth an investment of (€7.5 million) USD 8.3 million, in Sweden. The company aims at producing five AM products from 2019-2023 in the field of industrial tools.

Segmentations, Sub Segmentations, CAGR, & High-Level Analysis overview of Metal Powder Market Research Report

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at global, regional, and country levels, and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, this market research report has segmented the global metal powder market report on the basis of materials, technology, application, and region:

Material Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Ferrous
  
Non-ferrous

Technology Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Press & Sinter
  
Metal Injection Molding
  
Additive Manufacturing
  
Other Technologies

Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Automotive
  
Aerospace & Defense
  
Healthcare
  
Other Applications