Beijing, July 2, 2024 — The China Foundry Association (CFA) released the “2023 China Foundry Industry Data”.
The “20th China Foundry Association Annual Meeting” was successfully held in Beijing. During the annual meeting, the “2023 China Foundry Industry Data” was released. Mr. Dongsheng Wang, the Executive Vice President and General Secretary of CFA, released the data and interpreted it in detail.
China’s Total Casting Output
In 2023, China’s total output of various castings will be 51.9 million tons, a slight increase of 0.4% year-on-year, which is basically the same as the previous year.
Total Casting Production
In 2023, China’s total output of all kinds of castings will reach 51.9 million tons, a slight increase of 0.4% year-on-year, which is basically the same as the previous year.
Casting demand in downstream industries
Since 2018, China’s industry has enjoyed good development momentum in the past six years, and the demand for castings has shown an upward trend year by year.
Changes in casting demand in the downstream industry from 2018 to 2023
| Industry Name | Cars | Agricultural Machinery | Construction Machinery | Mining Machinery | Cast Iron Pipe | Machine Tool | Rail Traffic | Power Generation Assembly | Ship | Other | Total |
| 2018 | 1480 | 545 | 425 | 450 | 825 | 250 | 218 | 215 | 37 | 490 | 4935 |
| 2019 | 1420 | 515 | 440 | 460 | 830 | 225 | 220 | 210 | 35 | 520 | 4875 |
| 2020 | 1500 | 540 | 490 | 470 | 853 | 227 | 220 | 250 | 35 | 610 | 5195 |
| 2021 | 1540 | 555 | 520 | 500 | 885 | 260 | 215 | 235 | 35 | 660 | 5405 |
| 2022 | 1475 | 515 | 480 | 520 | 830 | 245 | 210 | 215 | 35 | 645 | 5170 |
| 2023 | 1520 | 505 | 430 | 515 | 810 | 240 | 215 | 250 | 40 | 665 | 5190 |
| Growth 22-23 | 3.1 | -1.9 | -10.4 | -1.0 | -2.4 | -2.0 | 2.4 | 16.3 | 14.3 | 3.1 | 0.4 |
Proportion of casting demand in downstream industries
The automotive automation industry accounts for the largest proportion of casting demand. There is relatively little demand in industries such as construction machinery, mining machinery and pipe fittings. This also reflects the rapid development of the automotive automation industry in the domestic market over the past year.
Proportion of castings of various materials
Gray iron and ductile iron are still the most widely used materials in industrial production. However, it is not difficult to see from the data in 2023 that the usage rate of lightweight materials such as aluminum-magnesium alloy has increased compared with previous years. Aluminum-magnesium alloy is the main application material for new energy vehicles, which also reflects the rapid development momentum of China’s new energy vehicle industry.
China’s Customs Data of Casting Import and Export
Export Data
From 2020 to 2022, China’s casting export volume will show an upward trend every year. The export volume in 2023 will decrease by 2.8% compared with 2022.
| Quantity/value of exportsin 2020 |
Exportquantityamoun in 2021 |
2022 Export quantity/amount |
2023 Expoit quantity/amount |
Year-on-year growth in 2023 comparedto 2022 |
| 4.463 million tons /$10.99 billion |
5.10.0 million tons/ $14.43 billion |
5.413 million tons /$16.22 billion |
5.261 million tons 5.261 million tons |
2.8%/ 3.9% |
Import Data
Since 2021, China’s casting import volume has shown a downward trend year by year. The import quantity of castings in 2023 will decrease by 9.1% compared with 2022.
| 2020 import quantity/amount |
2021 import quantity/amount |
2022 import quantity/amount quantity/amount |
2023 Import | Year-On-year growth in 2023 compared to 2022 |
| 114,000 tons/ $1.62 billion |
123,000 tons/ $1.83 billion |
110,000 tons /$1.6 billion |
100,000 tons / $1.57 billion |
9.1%/ 1.9% |
From January to May 2024 —
China’s Casting Customs Export Data
During the period from January to May 2024, the quantity and value of China’s casting exports increased significantly compared with January to May 2023. The export quantity of castings increased by 11.4%. Contrary to the increase in quantity, its unit price per kilogram fell by 6.1%. This reflects the improvement in the efficiency of China’s casting production and the price advantage of castings.
| Exit | Quantity (kg) | Amount (US $) | Unit price(USD/kg) |
| 2023(January-May) | 2113441944 | 6355173381 | 3.01 |
| 2024(January-May) | 2353995580 | 6648293904 | 2.82 |
| Year-on-year Increase(%) | 0 | 0 | -0.06 |
The above are China’s casting industry data in 2023 and casting export data from January to May 2024. Yihao Wang from Dawang Metals believes: “Interpreting China’s foundry industry data will help us better understand the development trends of China’s foundry market. Studying the changes in China’s casting foundry market through the above data will help us improve the internal driving force of production and enhance our competitiveness in China’s casting foundry industry.”
