GLOBAL AND DOMESTIC METAL CASTING MARKETS IN 2022–2024 AND FORECAST TARGETS FOR 2025: TRENDS, CHALLENGES, AND TRANSFORMATIONS

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the global metal casting market for the period 2022–2024 and a forecast for 2025. Given that official global production statistics had not been released as of February 2026, an estimated production analysis was conducted based on data from industry associations. It was established that 111.1 million tons of castings were produced worldwide in 2024, compared to 111.3 million tons in 2022, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of –0.1 %. While the top five global market leaders exhibited mixed production trends during 2022–2024, they collectively increased production from 83.5 to 85.4 million tons (CAGR 0.8 %). The study highlights that the foundry industry in the 21st century is operating under the pressure of global economic turbulence, leading to active transformation through the implementation of automation, artificial intelligence, energy-efficient technologies, new logistics schemes, and advanced personnel training systems. A significant impact on metal casting consumption is exerted by the development of the automotive industry, particularly the production volumes of electric vehicles. The latter stimulated the creation and implementation of a new die-casting technology – megacasting. Overall, during 2022–2024, global vehicle production increased with a CAGR of 2.9 %. China, the leader of the global foundry market, demonstrated a negative production rate (CAGR –1.6 %), reaching a volume of 50.75 million tons in 2024. India, ranked second, increased its casting production from 12.44 to 15.16 million tons (CAGR 6.8 %) between the 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 fiscal years. In the USA, metal casting sales reached $47.584 billion in 2022 compared to $36.716 billion in 2020 (CAGR 9.0 %), followed by a period of stabilization with a CAGR of 1.8 % in 2022–2024. Japan’s perfor- mance for 2019–2023 indicates a downward trend, with production decreasing from 5,275.7 to 4,846.9 thousand tons (CAGR –1.7 %). Within the European Foundry Federation (CAEF), Germany remains the leader, producing 3.364 million tons in 2024 (26.6 % of the total 12.634 million tons produced by the 22 member countries). Overall, CAEF countries saw a production decline with a CAGR of –4.6 %, while Germany’s CAGR was –5.0 %. In Ukraine, which continues to resist russian aggression, casting production increased with a CAGR of 8.2 % during 2022–2024.