Cables Market Intelligence

Industry Outlook & Drivers

Cable Market Analysis and Global Outlook

• The APAC will continue to dominate the market, in terms of growth prospects until 2021, and it is expected to grow at the rate of 2–3 percent
• Increasing demand for electricity in the emerging and developed countries, backed by increasing investment in the network and building infrastructure, is expected to drive the cable market globally

Global Cables - Market Maturity

Increasing demand for electricity in the emerging and developed countries, backed by increasing investment in infrastructure, is expected to drive the cables market globally. However, slowdown of economy and regulatory policies for interconnection arrangements have been hindering the market growth

Global Cables Market - Trend and Classification

• The global market of cables is divided into two major industry segments, such as electrical and telecom/datacom cables, which could be used in various end-use applications. They are further categorized into LV energy, Power Cable, Ext & Int. Telecom, Winding Wire, and Fiber Optic Cables
• The world’s market value of cables was around $185.8 billion in 2019, which increased by 2.8 to 3 percent from 2018. It is projected to reach about $195.24 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 2–3 percent, from 2018 to 2021
• It is observed that the growth rate slowed down for the past four years, majorly due to the global economic deflation and depreciation in Euro/Yen. There was a considerable reduction in the prices of copper and aluminum
• Building wire, vehicle wire, and appliance wire, which are the segments of the LV energy market, hold the major 35 percent of the market, followed by CU and Aluminum power cable. Both these cables have witnessed an upward trend in 2017 and is expected to continue

Global Power Cables Market

• Among the global cables market, power cables hold a market share of around $123.8 billion, which are categorized as LV, MV, HV, and eHV cables
• LV cables hold the largest market share of ~50 percent, which are majorly the building wire and power distribution systems, which fall below 1kV category .This industry is driven by the building wire and vehicle wire market
• MV cables fall under the range 1–33 kV, which hold the second largest market share globally
• HV cables are in the range 33–230 kV, and eHV cables are generally above 230-kV voltage range
• The power cables market is one of the fastest growing markets in the global cables market category. It exhibits a CAGR of 4.4 percent from 2017 to 2021
• Until 2016, the power cables market witnessed a downward growth rate of 3.0 percent (from 2015) due to weakened demand and price reductions of raw materials.This weak demand was especially felt in Japan and China in the power and infrastructure sectors

• The North American, Brazilian and Russian markets remained weak with demand from the LV and, oil and gas sector, having fallen sharply, as new investments almost stopped 

• Though there was a moderate growth in 2017 and 2018, the market is witnessing an increasing pressure, due to slower growth in key end-use sectors and as trade tensions heighten

Global Cables - Drivers and Constraints

Drivers

• Increase in demand from the ICT sector especially in China, India, Malaysia and high demand in intelligent systems and IoT are the key drivers of the telecom cables market
• Increasing demand for electricity in the emerging and developed countries, such as China, India, Germany, the U.S. and the U.K., backed by increasing industrialization and urbanization and demand for LV cables is expected to drive the power cables market globally
• The developed countries are integrating wind and other renewable energies. Also, HVDC cables in the electrical transmission, LV cables for building and vehicles, and active fiber optic cable market in the telecom are huge areas for growth

Constraints

• Regulatory issues that deal with offshore wind farms and difficulty of achieving an optimal interconnection arrangement in subsea cables are the main constraints in the cables market
• Volatility in copper, aluminum and crude oil prices is expected to restrain the growth of cables globally
• Volatility in raw material prices and an increase in competition has created pressure on the manufacturers’ profit margin, due to which, some of the global players in the industry have shifted their production facilities to regions that facilitate low cost of manufacturing

Supply Market Outlook

Global/ Regional Supplier

• Increase in Innovation –Core technology, with optimized designs, provides significant reduction in “no-load” losses, thus resulting in high energy efficiency
• Increase in Safety –Launch of non-mineral insulating liquid ensures safety in transformers, thereby reducing risks of fire and are more eco-friendly compared to traditional mineral oil or silicone liquid

Service Providers

• Service Offering: Many Tier 2 companies are involved in cabling services, such as installation and commissioning, maintenance and repairs, supply of spare parts, engineering, etc., thus supporting customers across all industries, increasing the reliability and increasing its service life

Network Cables Procurement Intelligence: Engagement Trends

Contract : There are generally two types of annual contracts for procurement of cables, such as fixed price contracts and variable price contracts

–In fixed price contracts: the price is fixed for a given duration

–In variable price contracts: the client and the supplier get into an agreement, wherein the final price is subject to variation, based on changes in key raw material prices

Contract Length : Fixed price (24–26 weeks, with a maximum of a year) and variable price (2–5 years)

Cost Structure Analysis –Global

Copper/aluminum, thermoplastics, rubber materials, and non-metallic elements form the raw materials for cables. The raw materials constitute to around 65 percent of the overall cost structure. This cost structure is broken up into processes to understand the process-related costs.

Raw Material

• Copper is the principal raw material used by the companies in the production of wire and cable products, representing ~50 percent of the total raw material costs for wire and cable
• Thermoplastic is used in sheathing and enclosure of copper/aluminum rods as an outer cover
• Rubber and non-metallic paper insulation elements are used inside the cables for strengthening and insulation of cables

Other Costs

• Labor, energy and fuel constitute to ~20 percent of the cable cost structure
• Fixed components, here, include the infrastructure, building lease, salaries for employments and logistics
• Advertisements and anticipated liabilities are included in miscellaneous