The global market for Continuous Welded Pipes & Tubes is expected to slump by -10.3% in the year 2020 highlighting a 2.1million ton erosion in consumption. Thereafter the market is expected to recover and reach 23.5 million tons by the year 2027 trailing a post-COVID-19 CAGR of 3.8% over the analysis period 2020 to 2027. The human cost of the pandemic is continuing to grow and is expected to deal an unprecedented blow to people, businesses and economies worldwide. Seven months into the pandemic, infections worldwide are continuing to spiral. Continuing lockdowns, labor shortages, mobility challenges, supply chain disruptions, financial distress and plummeting investments have impacted a bulk of construction activity worldwide. Diversion of government funds from infrastructure development to pandemic firefighting has additionally impacted the construction industry, which is dependent to a large extent on infrastructure projects. Spending billions of dollars on pandemic management and healthcare system upgrades, governments world over are now facing rapidly depleting fiscal coffers and widening fiscal deficits. Over the last eight months alone, the U.S. budget deficit widened to US$1.8 trillion as a result of the spending blitz to combat the pandemic. Falling tax revenue is additionally aggravating the financial woes.

Like the U.S. several countries worldwide jacked up spending necessary to stabilize economies rocked by double-digit unemployment and a severe contraction in economic growth. Governments are declaring bailout packages for businesses and industries. Over 19 countries have declared bailout packages. The U.S for instance announced a US$2 trillion package to fight the coronavirus-driven economic slowdown. The Chinese government unveiled US$15.93 billion for coronavirus-related funding. Italy, the worst hit country by the pandemic, rolled out US$28 billion for ailing industries including the healthcare sector. Germany, on the other hand, announced US$610 billion rescue package. Spain, unveiled US$335 billion as loans for businesses. Also announcing bailout packages are countries such as The UK, India, Japan, Taiwan, UAE and the list goes on. Governments are opening up their war chest to rescue their economies. 15 countries together have allocated US$2.78 trillion, underlining the magnitude of the crisis. These financial measures for damage control to prevent complete meltdown of domestic economies will have knock-on effects for government spending elsewhere. Against this backdrop planned infrastructure investments are receiving steep budget cuts. In several countries, all non-essential construction projects have been put on hold with the exception of building emergency hospitals for COVID-19 care. Residential construction is taking a beating with millions of people worldwide pushed into unemployment as businesses either go bankrupt or layoff workforce to stay afloat. Unemployment rates are climbing to worrisome levels in both developed and developing economies alike.

In the United States, the worst hit by the pandemic, the devastation wreaked on the country`s economy can be put into perspective by the fact that currently over 50% of the country`s population is now unemployed. Over 33 million Americans are unemployed and the share of population unemployed dropped sharply from a recent high of 62% in January 65.7% in July 2020. With the labor market in doldrums, consumer spending is plummeting. The loss in consumer confidence and erosion of household wealth and discretionary spending will impact virtually every industry and business worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has therefore pushed consumers to conserve cash. With unemployment rates rising amid the virus induced economic crisis, consumers are cutting spending budgets. Social outlook against this background remains grim with households expected witness erosion in wealth. Personal financial outlook, community, economy, job security confidence, purchasing and investment confidence are all tumbling as the human and economic cost of the global pandemic rises. For the construction industry, this brings bad news as new housing starts go into deep freeze. The long shadow of the coronavirus is thwarting home-buying plans of consumers. With countries seeing a second wave of infections, the Covid-19 resurgence is likely to undermine the much awaited chances of a V-shaped recovery. Challenges of maintaining social distancing at construction sites is resulting in difficulties in obtaining project clearances from regulatory authorities. Ensuring raw material availability still remains a challenge for most construction contractors.

In the post pandemic period, the growing risks of aging global infrastructure amid widening infrastructure gap will drive government focus back on modernization, upgrades, replacements, maintenance and rehabilitation. Few of the risks posed by creaking infrastructure such as roads, bridges, dams, sewage system, power lines, oil & gas and water pipelines include disruption in business activity and economic losses; and jeopardizing of public safety and health. Worsening water shortages aggravated due to leakages and wastages and the ensuing replacement of aging water supply systems for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural sector will drive demand for continuous welded pipes and tubes. Similarly, robust production of natural gas supported by the shale gas revolution in North America, and increased energy trade and piped cross country transport of natural gas and oil will spur demand growth in the market. In the industrial sector, rapid expansion of the manufacturing sector, and increased industrial activity are creating a strong need for piping and tubing systems for industrial boilers, heating and cooling equipment, exhaust and ventilation systems, process pressure lines for transporting aggressive media and chemicals, and effluent discharge systems. Recovering construction industry and improving residential and commercial real estate investments coupled with stringent fire safety regulations will spur demand for continuous welded pipes for fire sprinkler systems and for scaffolding components and shells for electrical conduits. Asia-Pacific will remain a major market supported by growing Asian economies with expanding population and infrastructure needs including expansion of water supply networks to address urban water security issues; rapid industrialization and the resulting pipeline need for industrial water and wastewater management and focus on irrigated agriculture in a bid to ensure food security and the ensuing popularity of pressure piped irrigation techniques.