High Speed Steel Market

High Speed Steel Market Outlook

The global high speed steel market is projected to expand at a CAGR of close to 7% throughout the assessment period of 2021 to 2031, and cross a valuation of US$ 4.5 Bn in 2031. M grade high speed steel to dominate demand with over 40% market share over the next ten years.

High speed steel contributes a broad application portfolio with dedicated product offerings down the line, and experience high demand in various end-use industries. The steel market is maneuvering forward as a driving train for high speed steel, with detailed application and diversified use cases. Enlarging requirement for cutting tools from varied industries kindles high speed steel demand with prosperity and perseverance.

High speed steel cutting tools witness esteemed recognition from end-use industries based on prolonged tool life and high wear and tear strength. Successfully executed product development strategies are adopted by market players to cater to this rising demand for high speed steel tools from end-use industries.

Deepening down of in-depth applications along with intervention of innovation and advancements in providing exemplary HSS material cultivates market penetration globally for high speed steel. Blooming demand for high strength, wear resistance, and high abrasive high speed steel is steadily stimulating innovation and technological growth among market leaders.

In a recently published report by Fact.MR, insights regarding key factors fueling market growth have been offered for the next ten years. The report tracks trends in 20+ high-growth countries, with the regions of Asia, North America, and Europe leading the way. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also been detailed in the report, with exhaustive insights into what the years ahead will offer.

Historical Vs Future Growth Projections

Over the past half-decade, high speed steel has portrayed absolute growth at a CAGR of over 4% from 2016 to 2020. This growth is on the back of new construction projects complemented by end-use industries and from diverse applications, including cutting tools, metal working, and milling.

The COVID-19 outbreak partially contracted demand for high speed steel in the second and third quarters of FY2020. Worldwide lockdowns and stoppages of production plants in key end-use industries, i.e. construction, manufacturing, and automotive, led to a domino effect on high speed steel requisites across regions. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, overall demand witnessed a hike of 2.3%.

Gathering all findings for the market over the forecast period, demand is projected to grow in a steady phase in the short term (2020-2025), while in the medium term, it is expected to record moderate growth. Overall, the market is projected to expand at a CAGR close to 7% through 2031.

Why Do Cutting Tools Play a Crucial Role in Driving Demand for High Speed Steel?

Increasing competition amongst cutting tool manufacturers for reliable products with improved performance, versatile usability, longer life span, and cost-effective price is being witnessed. Today, HSS has occupied its use cases in automotive, mechanical engineering, aerospace, machine tool, dies and molds, and other industries. Also, high speed steel is has proven its versatility and is widely been used in hobs, broaches, shaper cutters, shaver cutters, milling cutters, and bevel cutters for fabricating gear.

Subsequent development & research have made variations on tungsten and molybdenum balancing. Other elements such as cobalt and vanadium are added to enhance the properties of HSS. Upcoming technology in HSS production forms will definitely provide further scope for a variety of unexplored applications.

The market for cutting tools is now demanding development to open the doors of unexplored opportunities and witness prosperity. High speed steel is mainly driven by cutting tools available in. Strengthened supply and demand chain networks by tool manufacturers maintain healthy competitive environment to render product development and continue to introduce advanced products with reliable applications.

How is Production Form Bifurcation Raising Potential for High Speed Steel?

Most of the research today carried out on high speed steel is focused on improving its durability and temperature working. The traditional and most reliable method used by manufacturers to produce high speed steel was conventional ingot using casting. In case of improved properties, conventional HSS undergoes the electro-slag-remelting process. With sinusoidal time graph, end-use industries demand advancements in production in order to cast reliable end products.

Swelling demand for innovation and research has instigated the existence of powder metallurgy HSS and spray formed HSS, which will prove to be the driving force for the market during longer run. Extensive hardness and high wear & tear strength offered by both production forms continue to penetrate the market for untouched potential applications, ranging from construction to automobile gear cutting.

Country-wise Analysis

Why is the U.S. Showcasing Huge Scope for High Speed Steel Consumption?

Growing end-use cases for high speed steel have showed incremental opportunity, which has been equally complemented by end-use industries present in prime regions across the globe. The United States is a global manufacturer of tools and drill bits, which significantly drives consumption of high speed steel. Continuous innovations in tools to increase its MRR with high abrasive strength are some important reasons driving market potential.

Manufacturers of cutting tools situated in USA witness increased GVA and improved index of industrial products. Increased infrastructure spending by the government in constructional business has been thriving HSS cutting tool consumption demand in the country.

Are ASEAN Countries Poised to Increase Demand for High Speed Steel?

ASEAN countries with growing economies are poised to increase consumption demand for high speed steel over the coming years. In 2018, the IMF reported that global steel consumption is expanding at a CAGR of 6.3%, which will amplify demand for steel in ASEAN. It was seen that, 50% of total steel demand arriving from ASEAN was captured by Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam reported a consumption CAGR of 11.8%, which has boosted steel demand in the market, and the country continues to flourish with similar potential curve.

The construction sector, as far as end-use industry in ASEAN, is the largest steel consuming sector and is poised to grow evidently during the forecast period. Around 73% of total steel consumption in ASEAN is by the construction industry, which continues to reflect positive growth for the high speed steel market.

In a recently published report by Fact.MR, Japan has been highlighted in the top 10 prominent countries, and deep insights about pricing, demand-supply gap, and other factors have been provided.

Category-wise Insights

Which Grade High Speed Steel is More Sough-after?

Applications associated with high speed steel are purely based on the chemical composition and type of material instigated into it. The proportion of chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, or tungsten decides the type of application it will be used for. This chemical composition with deep study and research can be molded into effective results and applications. High speed steel also comes in advanced grade, where there is combination of alloyed elements together with cobalt to provide exemplary hardness and toughness over convention Molybdenum grade and tungsten grade high speed steel.

Such advanced grade high speed steel carries high wear and tear strength with improved tool life. Continuous innovations in product composition are adding value to the HSS grade with advances capabilities.

What are the Key Challenges Faced by High Speed Steel Manufacturers?

Major building components of HSS are alloys of carbon, vanadium, chromium, molybdenum or tungsten, or combinations. These raw materials are adding value to high speed steel with improved chemical composition to cater to applications and uses cases in end-use industries.  In 2019, Europe and China experienced fall in the price of vanadium, and again in 2020, prices continued to fall. Market leaders experienced a fall in their segmental revenue and minimum selling value during 2020.

During COVID-19, when global trade was hit, manufacturers depended on local sourcing for raw materials, witnessing a hike in prices with lesser availability in some regions.

Report Scope

Attribute	Details
Market forecast value in 2031	USD 4.5 Billion
Growth Rate	CAGR of 7% from 2021 to 2031
Forecast Period	2021-2031
Historical Data Available for	2016-2020
Market Analysis	US$ Mn for Value & KT for Volume
Key Regions Covered	North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia & Oceania Middle East & Africa
Key Countries Covered	U.S. Canada Mexico Brazil Germany Italy France U.K. Spain China Japan South Korea India GCC Turkey
Key Market Segments Covered	Production Method Grade Application End-Use Industry Region
Key Companies Profiled	Erasteel Kennametal Voestalpine AG Graphite India Ltd. NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP. Tiangong International Co. Ltd ThyssenKrupp AG Sandvik AB Hitachi Metals Ltd. DAIDO STEEL
Pricing	Available upon Request

Key Market Segments Covered

• By Production Method

  • Conventional HSS
  • Powder Metallurgy ( PM) HSS
  • Spray Forming (SF) HSS

• By Grade

  • M Grade
  • T Grade
  • Advance Grade

• By Application

  • Cutting Tools
    • Drills
    •  Taps
    • Milling Cutters
    • Tools Bits
    • Hobbing Cutters
    • Saw Blades
    • Router Bits
  • Metal Cutting
  • Milling
  • Others

• By End-use Industry

  • Automobiles
  •  Manufacturing
  •  Aerospace
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Construction
  • Others

• Region

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa