U.S. Industrial Valve Demand Seen As Strong To 2009
U.S. Industrial Valve Demand Seen As Strong To 2009
Demand for industrial valves in the U.S. will rise 4.6% annually to $14.8 billion in 2009, a strong improvement over the 1999 to 2004 performance, according to “Industrial Valves,” a new study from The Freedonia Group. The study says that OEM demand comprises approximately two-thirds of the total market and will be buoyed by an improved outlook for the production of durable goods and capital spending. Much of the gains will occur in the public utilities market, which will benefit from increased capital expenditures by electric utilities and solid growth in waterworks construction.
U.S. producers face strong competition in many standard valve products from manufacturers in low labor cost countries, and in more highly engineered standard and automatic valve products from manufacturers in Western Europe and Japan. By 2009, imports are projected to account for more than half of total U.S. valve demand, up from about 30% in 1994.