Global Powder Metallurgy Market 2024–2033

Reports Description

The Global Powder Metallurgy Market was valued at USD 3.08 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 6.38 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 8.62% during the forecast period 2024 – 2033.

Powder metallurgy is a manufacturing method that creates metallic components from tiny metal powders. This method allows for exact forms and properties that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish using traditional procedures such as casting and machining. It mixes metal particles with materials such as ceramics or polymers, then employs heat and pressure to form a solid, dense mass.

Powder metallurgy is being adapted by various end-user industries because it offers various advantages, such as enhanced material efficiency, design flexibility, improved material characteristics, cost-effectiveness, and less material wastage.

Powder metallurgy reduces material waste, increases production economics, and lowers environmental impacts. Its application is increasing in various industries, such as medical, aerospace, automotive, electronics, and consumer goods.

Powder Metallurgy Market: Growth Factors

Growing Demand from Automotive Industry & Sustainability

The automobile sector is a key driver of the powder metallurgy market. The rapidly expanding automotive industry worldwide is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Powder metallurgy is a production method used for manufacturing various automotive components such as engine parts, transmission systems, bearings, gears, clutch plates, and other structural sections.

The growing demand for lightweight vehicles and the increasing adaptation of fuel-efficient automobile technologies are mainly boosting the usage of powder metallurgy production methods. This method provides cost-effective production, design flexibility, and enhanced performance.

The rapidly expanding production and sales of sports and electric vehicles worldwide are major drivers for the powder metallurgy sector. Sports vehicles and EVs require lightweight, high-performance components to improve battery economy and vehicle performance.

Powder metallurgy processes, like sintering and metal injection molding, allow for the creation of complicated forms and lightweight parts with excellent mechanical qualities, making them perfect for EV applications.

The increasing inclination of manufacturers towards sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing practices is also boosting the powder metallurgy market’s growth. Powder metallurgy has several environmental benefits, such as resource economy, lightweight capabilities, generating less waste, consuming less energy, and emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and using recycled powders.  Thus, such factors drive market growth during the forecast period.

Powder Metallurgy Market: Restraints

The interior pores cannot be eliminated when the powder compacts; hence, this is the most likely explanation for the lower strength and toughness of powder metallurgy products compared to forging and casting identical components.

Metal powder has a limited volume and form (up to 10kg) due to its lower fluidity than liquid metal. Furthermore, powder metallurgy is best suited for mass production due to its much greater compression melding and stamping costs than other industrial powder types. These factors limit the market’s growth.

The lack of universal directives and guidelines regarding the use of powder metallurgy manufacturing methods is also restraining the market’s growth. Every sector and country has its own set of rules and regulations regarding the implementation of powder metallurgy.

Key players operating in the market are finding it very difficult to cope with such sector-wise directives, which in turn discourage investment in the market and thereby restrain market growth.

Powder Metallurgy Market: Opportunities

Growing usage of Powder Metallurgy in the Drivetrain applications, NdFeB super hard magnets, and SMCs.

Powder metallurgy uses several methods, specifically manufacturing metal powders to meet the ever-increasing need for a wide range of drivetrain applications, particularly powertrain. The powdered metal/PM method chain enables energy-efficient manufacture of powertrain components, resulting in a green (environmentally friendly) production process. Thus, PM/powder metal powertrain components are regarded as a highly effective cost-saving aspect. This, in turn, will open several future market growth prospects.

Furthermore, the growing usage of powder metallurgy manufacturing methods in the manufacturing of NdFeB superhard magnets and SMCs is expected to create lucrative opportunities for market growth during the forecast period. The demand for neodymium-based magnets is increasing across the various end-use applications, which in turn boosts the production of these magnets, thereby driving the market growth.

Powder metallurgy is increasingly used in the manufacturing of neodymium magnets. In this manufacturing method, a suitable magnet composition is pulverized into fine powder, compacted, and heated to cause densification by using liquid phase sintering. Thus, the above-mentioned factors are expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market during the forecast period.

Technological Innovations

The increasing use of additive manufacturing to reduce the weight of parts or components used in the aerospace, medical, and military sectors is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market over the forecast period. Many businesses have embraced additive manufacturing, often known as 3D printing, because of its benefits over traditional manufacturing procedures.

The advantages include greater design complexity, lower weight, and cost efficiency. Many industries use 3D printing, including jewelry, healthcare, food, footwear, and aerospace, which has contributed to the market’s rise. The need for AM in the aerospace, defense, medical, and dentistry sectors is expected to continue to be a major driver of market expansion in the United States.

In March 2022, 3D Systems, a U.S. 3D printer maker, partnered with Enhatch, a medical company, to develop an efficient process for producing medical devices. Additive manufacturing continues to see significant investments from the aerospace and military industries. In terms of AM R&D, the sector is in the forefront. The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Senvol, an additive manufacturing data expert, a fresh round of funding in 2021 to optimize Defense and aerospace components.

Powder Metallurgy Market: Segmentation Analysis

Based on the Material, the Global Powder Metallurgy Market is segmented by Titanium, Nickel, Steel, Aluminium, Cobalt, and Others. Among all these, the steel segment dominated the market and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period due to its dynamic properties due to the growing global consumption of steel.

Various factors, such as steel’s low cost and ease of availability, make it an attractive material for a variety of purposes, adding to its development. According to the World Steel Association, China produced around 3,650 million tons of steel in 2020, accounting for 56.6% of total world steel output. Steel’s flexibility and strength make it an ideal material for various industries, including automotive, equipment, and transportation.

Steel powder’s growing use in 3D printing has broadened its use, notably in the production of big, complicated components like car chassis and heavy machinery. Powder metallurgy’s popularity originates from its ability to employ steel powder in complicated geometries and the simplicity with which it may be modified. As firms embrace new production processes such as 3D printing, the usage of steel powder will likely increase, adding to the overall development of the steel segment in the powder metallurgy market.

The Global Powder Metallurgy Market is segmented by application: Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Oil and Gas, Industrial, Medical, and Dental. The automotive category led the market in 2023 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period.

Powder metallurgy is widely used in the automobile sector because it can manufacture components with regulated porosity and self-lubricating qualities required for gas and liquid filtration. The procedure also allows the fabrication of mechanical components from various compositions, including metal-metal and metal-non-metal combinations.

Powder metallurgy reduces material waste while ensuring high dimensional precision, making it perfect for producing car components. Employing both ferrous and nonferrous metals in the production of automobile parts increases the process’ flexibility. According to the OICA, global car manufacturing will increase by 3% in 2021, reaching 80.154 million vehicles.

This increase in vehicle production and the automotive industry’s greater emphasis on economy and sustainability are likely to fuel demand for powder metallurgy products in the automotive sector, firmly establishing the segment’s market leadership.

Based on Process, the Global Powder Metallurgy Market is segmented by Additive Manufacturing, Powder Metal Hot Isostatic Pressing, and Metal Injection Molding. In the powder metallurgy business, which is divided into numerous production techniques, the PM HIP (Powder Metal Hot Isostatic Pressing) method was dominant in 2023, accounting for 55% of the market.

The PM HIP method combines the advantages of powder metallurgy with hot isostatic pressing to create high-quality, completely dense metal components. This procedure includes powder manufacturing, mixing, compacting, sintering, and hot isostatic pressing.

The PM HIP process provides several advantages, including improved mechanical qualities, the capacity to create complicated geometries, material diversity, and cost effectiveness. It is also known for its consistency and reproducibility, making it suitable for a wide range of industries, such as automotive, aerospace, medicine, and energy.

Furthermore, the technology promotes sustainability by allowing the use of reusable components, hence minimizing waste. The combination of these properties has made PM HIP a popular method for making high-performance components, particularly in sectors that need accuracy and endurance, such as aerospace and automotive manufacturing.

Report Scope

Powder Metallurgy Market: Regional Analysis

The global powder metallurgy market has different regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The Asia-Pacific region dominated the market in 2023 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period owing to its rapidly expanding end-use industries.

High population levels, increased private investment, and rising consumer disposable income have resulted in the widespread use of powder metallurgy in industries such as automotive and healthcare. The area has experienced substantial growth in additive manufacturing, particularly in China and Japan.

For example, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) reported that Japan’s electronics industry had a net production value of JPY 10.95 trillion in 2021, a 10% rise from the year before.

Furthermore, China has made major expenditures in its Defense sector, with the Chinese Aviation Industry Development Research Centre forecasting a 6.8% rise in Defense spending by 2021. These economic growth trends, the region’s expanding industrial base, and advances in manufacturing technology have raised demand for powder metallurgy products in various sectors.

As China, Japan, and India continue to invest in technological advancements and infrastructure, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to maintain its lead in the global powder metallurgy market.

The North American region held the second-largest market share in 2023 and is expected to keep its position during the forecast period, owing to the rapid growth of end-use industries in this region. Key countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are mainly driving the market growth of this region. The rapidly expanding automotive industry is a major driver of market growth in this region.

Europe is expected to grow at a significant pace during the forecast period owing to its well-developed automotive industry. Key countries such as the U.K., Germany, Sapin, Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy are mainly driving the market growth of this region.

List of the prominent players in the Powder Metallurgy Market:

• Carpenter Technology Corporation
• Rio Tinto Metal Powders
• Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI)
• Molyworks Materials Corporation
• Sandvik AB
• Hoganas AB
• POLEMA JSC
• Carl Schlenk AG
• GKN Plc
• Miba AG
• Advanced Technology & Materials Co. Ltd. (AT&M)
• JSC Polema
• Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd
• Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
• POLEMA JSC
• Others

The Powder Metallurgy Market is segmented as follows:

By Material

• Titanium
• Nickel
• Steel
• Aluminum
• Cobalt
• Others

By Process

• Additive Manufacturing
• Powder Metal Hot Isostatic Pressing
• Metal Injection Molding

By Application

• Aerospace & Defense
• Automotive
• Oil & Gas
• Industrial
• Medical & Dental

Regional Coverage:

North America

• U.S.
• Canada
• Mexico
• Rest of North America

Europe

• Germany
• France
• U.K.
• Russia
• Italy
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

• China
• Japan
• India
• New Zealand
• Australia
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Rest of Asia Pacific

The Middle East & Africa

• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Egypt
• Kuwait
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Latin America

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of Latin America