The proliferation of rapid industrialization in the developing countries is anticipated to propel the conveyor belt market during the ensuing years. Industrialization plays a significant role in the economic development of underdeveloped nations, changing the pattern of foreign trade and encouraging the export of manufactured goods, which are more lucrative in foreign exchange. With the growing industrialization, an economy develops in a wide-range of avenues including rise in income level of the population, rise in purchasing capacity, and improvement in the standard of living. In totality, this would help facilitate commerce in developing nations, which in turn would aid conveyor belt market growth. Furthermore, government initiatives to attract foreign investments in mining and manufacturing sectors, which are the leading consumer of conveyor solutions, will also augment the demand for conveyor belts.
U.S. Conveyor Belt Market Size, by Product, 2014 – 2025 (USD Million)
Another factor boosting the growth of conveyor belt market is the booming iron and steel industry. Both iron and steel are some of the most used materials of this time for a slew of industries. Iron and steel products are used as raw materials in several industries and are widely used for manufacturing machines, tools, and numerous durable goods for daily use. According to the World Steel Association, the global crude steel production grew 4.9% year on year and reached 155.0 million tons by March 2019. China’s crude steel production hit 80.3 million tons with 10.0% year over year growth, while Japan’s production hit 9.1 million tons, and South Korea’s production rose 2.8% to 6.3 million tons in 2019.
Conveyor belts are majorly used for material handling purposes in steel and iron sector and help in easily transferring materials of large volume. Hence, the increasing demand and production of iron and steel would intensify product demand, thereby expanding the conveyor belt market size over the future.
Cleated belts are the most widely used conveyor belts because they allow free-flowing bulk materials to be transported on inclines. The benefits of cleated belts include improved capacity by reducing material roll back, less spillage as cleats contain products to the belt, and reduction in capital costs by allowing for steeper conveyor design. Cleated conveyor belts are also commonly used in scrap recycling. Scrap metal recycling helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and uses less energy than manufacturing new metal from virgin ore. The growing concerns related to climate change and toxic gas emission around the world will benefit the cleated conveyor belt segment from the scrap recycling industry. According to trusted estimates, cleated conveyor belts are estimated to hold a 10% share of the global conveyor belt market.
In terms of regional growth, the Middle East and Africa market is likely to witness considerable growth in the coming years. The region is eminent for its massive mineral deposits, while several developing nations in the region are taking significant steps to enhance industrial development activities. For instance, the Ethiopian Parliament recently sanctioned the African Continental Free Trade Area pact to kickstart industrialization activities. Such initiatives will open-up new manufacturing and trading opportunities and thereby generate demand for conveyor belts in the region. Indeed, estimates claim that the Middle East & Africa conveyor belt market will witness a CAGR of around 3.5% over 2019-2025.
In a nutshell, the boom in industrialization is the primary reason boosting product demand across the world. Over the past few years, there has been significant acceleration in the setting up of manufacturing facilities, which are the chief consumers of conveyor belts. The conveyor belt market is set to amass mammoth revenues from a broad spectrum of industries apart from mining, metal, and recycling industry, such as food and beverage, power generation, supply chain, general manufacturing, and automotive industry.
Amid this backdrop, it is fairly evident that the future voyage of this business sphere will attract newer revenue streams on account of expanding application periphery. Authentic reports claim that the global conveyor belt market share to surpass $5 billion by the year 2025.