Points to Ponder: A Business Snapshot

The market overall is stable and increasing, but there are pockets of the world experiencing decline. Regional growth projections range from -1.4 percent to +10 percent. China, Brazil and India continue to grow in steel consumption at mid-single digits. Increased industrial output in the construction, energy and general manufacturing industries is driving the growth in the volume segment of the cutting and welding business. The United States has pent up demand for large capital investments in cutting and welding, especially in the transportation and energy sectors.

More specifically, there is strong market growth in more complex and alloy weld joints. High-strength steel and aluminum use is up by single digits, especially in the transportation sector, as it drives the weight of finished products down. The growth and impact of inverter technology and the arc control it brings is apparent, even in emerging markets. Advanced arc control has allowed shops to achieve much faster welds with less spatter and high fill rates, yielding higher productivity – a clearly increasing industry trend.

Chinese and Korean competitors are becoming more aggressive at penetrating the North American and European markets, as shipbuilding has declined in their home markets and freed up their production capacity. The other notable trend in the market is from legislation driving certifications for products, processes and operators. We continuously monitor market trends such as these and have a CBS tool in place for identifying the implications to our business as a result of these trends so that we can develop strategies to address these implications.

Any market analysis would not be complete without mention of one critical issue that continues to face our industry worldwide: the shortage of welders. This issue must be addressed through training programs to educate the next generation of welders and product development that engineers user-friendly welding and cutting technology.