Nickel Base Alloy Market Overview
Nickel base alloy market size
is forecast to reach $5,114.6 million by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 2.6%
during 2021-2026, owing to the increasing usage of nickel
base alloy in various end-use industries such as automotive, aerospace, oil
& gas, power plants, electronics, and more. Nickel base alloys have
excellent characteristics such as corrosion resistant, strength, toughness,
metallurgical stability, high-temperature strength, fabricability, weldability,
and these properties are expected to increase the market demand for
electronic alloys.
The rapid growth of the oil & gas industry has increased
the demand for nickel base superalloy, nickel base corrosion-resistant alloy, and
nickel base shape memory alloy; thereby, fueling the market growth.
Furthermore, the flourishing aerospace & defense industry is also expected
to drive the nickel base alloy industry substantially during the forecast
period.
COVID-19 Impact
Due to the
Covid-19 outbreak, the nickel base alloy end-use industries are facing issues
such as delays in receiving nickel base alloy from the manufacturers due to the
restriction on import and export of materials. Owing to the non-availability of
vessels and blank sailing, shipping orders are also heavily impacted. Also, the
pandemic of COVID-19 is having a major effect on the aviation industry.
Aircraft production has been disruptively halted, leading to a substantial loss
in the overall aerospace market. For instance, according to the International
Air Transport Association (IATA), worldwide domestic flights have dropped by
70% and the loss of passenger revenue is reaching $314 billion. With the decrease in aircraft production, the demand for nickel base
superalloy, nickel base corrosion-resistant alloy, and nickel base shape memory
alloy for manufacturing various parts has significantly fallen, which is having
a major impact on the nickel base alloy market growth.
Report Coverage
The report: “Nickel Base Alloy Market – Forecast
(2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following
segments of the nickel base alloy Industry.
By Type: Wrought Nickel,
Nickel-Iron, Nickel-Copper, Nickel-Chromium, Nickel-Molybdenum, Nickel-Titanium,
and Others.
By Application: Corrosion
Resistant, Heat Resistant, Low-Expansion, Electrical Resistance, Soft Magnetic,
and Others.
By End-Use Industry: Aerospace
& Defense (Commercial, Military, and Others), Electrical & Electronics
(Batteries, Computers, Smart Phones, and Others), Chemical, Oil & Gas
(Pipelines, Splash Zone Sheathing, FPSO Vessels, and Others), Energy &
Power (Wind Energy, Nuclear Energy, Solar Energy, Power Plants, and Others),
Automotive (Passenger Vehicles, and Commercial Vehicles), Healthcare
(Dentistry, Medical Devices, Surgical Tools, and Others), and Others.
By Geography: North
America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (U.K, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland,
Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India,
South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest
of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South
America), Rest of the World (Middle East, and Africa).
Key Takeaways
- North America dominates the nickel
base alloy market, owing to the flourishing aerospace industry in the region. According
to Boeing's commercial market outlook 2019-2038, in North America, there will
be an increase of 45% in the total fleet during the next 20 years.
- The batteries sector is also
one of the key consuming sectors of nickel alloys (electronic alloys) owing to their
conduction and resistance properties. Lithium-ion batteries require nickel due
to their excellent power density in electric vehicle applications over long
distances.
In the power industry, for nickel
base superalloy, nickel base corrosion-resistant alloy, and nickel base shape memory
alloy are extensively used in boiler applications because of their creep
strength and hot corrosion resistance in elevated temperature environments,
which will eventually boost the market growth.
Figure: North America Nickel Base Alloy Market Revenue, 2020-2026 (US$ Million)
Nickel
Base Alloy Market Segment Analysis – By Type
The nickel-copper
segment held the largest share in the nickel base alloy market in 2020 and is
growing at a CAGR of 5.8% during 2021-2026. Often known as models, Ni-Cu alloys
typically have 67 percent nickel and minimal proportions of other metals. They
are used in thermal exchangers, marine engineering, shafts, pumps, fasteners,
fittings, propeller shafts, valves, and more due to their excellent corrosion
resistance and high strength.
These nickel-copper alloys are used in comparison
to pure nickel where higher strength is needed. Nickel copper alloys are widely
used in oil refining and marine applications where long life without corrosion
is needed. Nickel copper alloys are also used for heat exchangers because of
their strong thermal conductivity, where seawater is one of the fluids concerned.
All these extensive characteristics of nickel-copper are the key factors anticipated to boost the demand for nickel-copper based alloys during the
forecast period.
Nickel
Base Alloy Market Segment Analysis – By Application
The high-performance
segment held the largest share in the nickel base alloy market in 2020, because
of their outstanding mechanical and physical properties, they are highly
suitable for applications such as engine turbines, blades, exhaust systems, and
more. Nickel base superalloy, nickel base corrosion-resistant alloy, and nickel
base shape memory alloy are highly engineered to have superior properties to
work in the most technically challenging applications in the world.
These properties may
include heat resistance, corrosion resistance, strength, fabricability,
electrical resistance, controlled thermal expansion, or magnetic characteristics,
which is the major driving factor for the high-performance nickel base alloys market
during the forecast period.
Nickel
Base Alloy Market Segment Analysis – By End-Use Industry
The aerospace
& defense segment held the largest share in the nickel base alloy market in
2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 5.8% during 2021-2026. A significant market
for nickel alloys in the aerospace & defense industry, are used
primarily for high-temperature applications. Due to its properties such as
excellent mechanical strength, and creep resistance at high temperatures;
surface stability; and corrosion and oxidation resistance, demand for alloys
grew in the aircraft construction industry.
In the aerospace industry, nickel
alloys are commonly used to produce turbine blades, discs, and other essential
jet engine components, because they have excellent adhesion, corrosion safety,
resistance to hardness, wear, and erosion, and, are ideal for applications
where stress needs to be minimized. According to Boeing's current business
forecast, the Middle East would need 2,520 new aircraft by 2030. The aerospace
industry is credited with growing air traffic in emerging economies and demand
for new-generation fuel-efficient aircraft. The aerospace industry's expansion
is expected to boost demand for nickel alloys and drive the global economy.
Nickel
Base Alloy Market Segment Analysis – By Geography
North America
region held the largest share in the nickel base alloy market in 2020 up to 36%,
owing to increasing demand for aircraft in the region. In 2018, U.S. aerospace
exports to Germany amounted to $8.92 billion, according to the International
Trade Administration (ITA), and the trade surplus was USD 6.36 billion,
reflecting a 67 percent rise compared to 2016 (USD 3.8 billion). And in 2017,
Canada was the fourth-largest international aerospace export market in the
United States, estimated at approximately US$9.2 billion, a rise of ten percent
over 2016. Airline passenger flows recorded in Mexico show annual average
growth of nearly 10 percent from 2015-2017, according to the Federal Civil
Aviation Agency (AFAC). Mexico's national and international passenger volume
rose by 5.5 percent in 2018, from 90.5 million in 2017 to 97.3 million in 2018,
suggesting that the country's demand for aircraft is rising. According to
Boeing commercial market outlook 2020-2039, North America will require 8,995
new aircrafts delivery in the region by 2039. And since nickel base
alloys are widely used in the aerospace industry to make turbine
blades, discs, and other critical jet engine parts, it is anticipated that with
the increasing aerospace sector in the region, the demand for nickel base
alloys will also substantially increase, which will then drive the nickel base
alloy market growth in North America during the forecast period.
Nickel Base Alloy Market Drivers
Growing Consumer Electronics Market
Nickel base shape memory alloys wire and strips have been
extensively used in consumer electronic devices because of their high strength
at high and low temperatures, toughness, corrosion resistance, controlled
thermal expansion, workability, and excellent spring properties. The electronic
& electrical industry requires electronic alloys that can be utilized at
elevated operating temperatures. In the United States, overall exports of
electronic goods rose by $7.9 billion (3 percent) to $268 billion in 2017,
according to the United States International Trade Commission. According to
Invest India, India's consumer electronics and appliances market will rise to
become the world's fifth-largest by 2025. By 2025, India's digital economy
could be worth $800 billion to $1 trillion, and it could account for 18 to 23
percent of overall economic activity. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), Colombia’s
total imports of IT equipment in 2018 amounted to USD 106 billion, a 7.5
percent increase compared to 2017. And since the
consumer electronic products require nickel base alloy for their production,
the growing consumer electronics sector acts as a driver for the nickel base
alloy market during the forecast period.
Increasing Oil & Gas Sector
In
the oil and gas industry, corrosion resistant control is a major problem. Thus,
oil & gas companies are using nickel base superalloy, nickel base
corrosion-resistant alloy, and nickel base shape memory alloy based equipment
and components, owing to their high corrosion resistance and superior
mechanical and physical properties. Nickel base superalloys and nickel base
corrosion-resistant alloys are used in process piping systems, separators,
scrubbers, pumps, manifolds, Christmas tree components, flowlines, and
pipelines transporting corrosive oils. According to the BP Statistical Review
of World Energy 2020, the production of oil increased from 361.0 million tonnes
in 2018 to 361.8 million tonnes in 2019, an increase of 0.2% in the Asia
Pacific. While the production of oil increased from 1042.2 million tonnes in
2018 to 1116.5 million tonnes in 2019, an increase of 7.1% in North America.
Furthermore, new projects are under construction to sustain the increasing
demand for oil and gas. For instance, In 2021, Eni S.p.A. expects to start
extracting natural gas from its Merakes offshore project in Indonesia. Tangguh
Train 3 is nearing completion, with Indonesia's BP-operated LNG export facility
adding 3.8 MTPA to the current facility's capacity, increasing the plant's
total capacity to 11.4 MTPA. Thus, with the flourishing oil and gas sector, the
demand for nickel base alloy will also increase, which will drive the market.
Nickel
Base Alloy Market Challenges
Volatility in Price of Nickel and Nickel Base Alloy
There
is often volatility in the price of nickel and nickel base alloy. According to
United States Geological Survey (USGS), the price of nickel (dollars per pound)
was 6.30 in 2019 and 4.719 in 2017, when compared with 5.367 in 2015. And
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the producer price
index (PPI) of nickel and nickel-base alloy mill shapes in 2020 was 151.3 in
June, 148.6 in September, and 151.7 in October. Thus, the fluctuations in
supplies in few regions are affecting the global consumption pattern, driving
frequent changes in nickel and nickel base alloy prices, which may hinder the nickel
base alloy market growth during the forecast period
Nickel Base Alloy Market Landscape
Technology
launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by
players in the nickel base alloy market. Major players in the nickel base alloy
market are VDM Metals, Aperam S.A., Sandvik Materials Technology AB, Allegheny
Technologies Incorporated, Carpenter Technology Corporation, ThyssenKrupp AG,
Haynes International Inc., Precision Castparts Corporation, Voestalpine AG, and
Rolled Alloys Inc.
Acquisitions/Technology
Launches
- In December 2019, Sandvik
acquired privately-owned Summerill Tube Corporation.
- In November 2019, Aperam S.A.,
Luxembourg, and Tekna, a subsidiary of Arendals Fossekompani ASA, have approved
the framework of a global joint venture which will combine their expertise
to create nickel and specialty alloy spherical powders through
newly-established company ImphyTek PowdersTM SAS.
Relevant Reports
Report Code: CMR 0555
Report Code: CMR 029
For more Chemicals and Materials Market reports, please click here