Chinese foundries vary significantly in size and the processes, equipment and level of technology used. For example, there are large, well equipped, automated foundries with annual outputs of a few ten thousand tons of iron castings; there are medium sized mechanised foundries which produce several thousand tons of iron castings each year; and there are also small foundries which use labour intensive processes to produce several hundred tonnes of iron castings annually.

The distribution of foundries

According to statistics compiled in 1991, there are some 10,500 foundries in China,excluding small foundries operated by individual townships. Table 1 shows the distribution of foundries among the administrative districts . The table shows that industrialised East China has the biggest percentage of foundries (34.1 per cent ), followed by the Mid South District( 22.3 per cent ). The Northeast District has a fairly good share, as it includes the old industrial base Liaoning Province, but the Southwest and Northwest Districts have fairly low shares ( 8.1 and 5.9 per cent respectively ). This is because the provinces and autonomous regions in these districts ( except Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanxi and Gansu ) are weaker in machine building.
 
 

Casting output in the last five years

The total castings output from China in the last five years has been around 10 - 12 million tons. Because of industrial readjustment between 1989 and 1990, casting output dropped in 1990: from 9.6m tons in 1989 to 8.86m tons in 1990. The following year, when industry recovered, this increased to 10.75m tons. Since then, the annual output of castings has continued to rise each year and it is predicted that castings production in China will rise to 12 million tons in 1995.

The proportions of iron, steel and non-ferrous castings produced in china has varied over the last five years. In 1989 iron castings represented 83 per cent of the total amount of castings produced, but this had dropped to 80.3 per cent by 1993. Meanwhile, steel castings rose from 12 per cent of total output to 13.9 per cent at the same time, and alloy castings increased from 5 to 5.8 per cent. It is important to bear in mind, however, that the amount of castings has greatly increased during these five years.

The output of ductile iron castings has steadily increased, with a total production of more than one million tonnes in 1991. This represents 11.8 per cent of all iron castings and roughly 10 per cent of the total annual output of castings. Since then, ductile castings have increased by some 100,000 tonnes annually. Because ductile iron has now replaced malleable iron for some automotive castings, the production of malleable castings has suffered to a degree. However, the share and output of these castings has increased due to the prosperity of the architectural industry, where they are used for pipe fittings etc, and escalating export demand. Annual production of malleable castings is now maintained at roughly 400,000 tpy, representing 2.7 to 3.8 per cent of the total castings output.

Grey iron is still the most popular material used for castings in China, representing some 70 per cent of total castings produced. Since 1991, more than seven million tonnes of grey iron castings have been produced annually.

The annual output of aluminium alloy and steel alloy castings has also increased in China. Aluminium alloy castings represented 70 per cent of all non-ferrous alloy castings in 1989, and rose to 73 per cent in 1993. At the same time, alloy steel castings-as a percentage of all steel castings increased form 20 to 26 per cent.
 
 

Industry growth dictates casting demand

The growth of various industries in China has had a significant affect on casting demand. Table 3 shows that demand for castings is strongest from the metallurgical, mining and heavy machinery industries ( including ingot moulds );the architectural industry ( including cast iron pipe ); and the agricultural machine and internal combustion engine industries.

The automotive, loco-engine, machine tool, general machinery and power equipment industries also create significant demand for castings, while the remaining industries shown in Table 3 consume a small percentage of China's annual production of castings.
 
 

 Castings demand from all industries increased substantially in 1991 due to industrial restructuring. Demand from the automotive industry increased 30.4 per cent compared with 1989, ( 55 per cent when compared with 1990 ), followed by the agricultural machine and internal combustion engine industries ( 18.5 per cent ); railway transport industry (17.5 per cent ); architectural industry ( 16.7 per cent ); power equipment industry ( 12 per cent ); and metallurgical and mining industries (10.8 per cent ).

Figure 3 shows that automotive castings represent six to 10 per cent of china's total castings. The Chinese automobile industry, which mainly produces trucks, has grown quickly and will continue to do so. The production of large and small cars has commenced and is experiencing rapid growth. This growing industry has caused the significant increase in production of grey and ductile iron castings, and its continual development will further increase castings demand.

Locomotive castings- which are mainly bolsters, side bearers and hooks made from steel- have also been growing steadily due to increased railway transport throughout China. Furthermore, as the old loco-engines are replaced by internal combustion engines, castings produced for this industry include large iron castings for diesel engines.

Castings for agricultural machines and internal combustion engines have always represented a large proportion of total casting production in China. Nearly every province ( municipality) has factories which manufacture diesel engines, tractors and other agricultural machine parts, creating an annual output of some 1.5 to 2 million tons of castings- roughly one sixth of China’s total castings output. Parts for agricultural machines and internal combustion engines are cast mainly from grey and ductile iron, although low alloy cast steel is used to cast creeper treads for tractors ( with an output of 20,000 tpy ).

Machine tool castings make up six to seven per cent of the overall castings market. The production of castings, generally made of cast iron, has varied over the years due to fluctuating demand.

The production of castings for valves, and petroleum and chemical machinery, is conducted on a large scale in China. High pressure valves are made of cast steel, ( including stainless steel ), and medium and low pressure valves are made of grey and ductile iron. Metallurgical, mining and heavy machinery requires a large amount of castings, a fairly big proportion being steel castings. In the metallurgical industry, annual ingot mould consumption is huge, averaging one million tons. However, the demand for ingot moulds is decreasing because of developments in continuous casting technology and reduced ingot mould consumption per ton of steel.

There is also high consumption of non-durable castings for mining and heavy machinery, such as grinding balls, lining boards, jaw plates, teethed plates and bucket teeth. This consumption is approximately 600,000 tons per year.

Cast iron pipe ( including continuously cast grey iron pipe and unpressurised sewerage pipe )represents a large proportion of casting production. The annual output has risen from 1.4 to 2.1 m tons per year. Because municipal construction and the architectural industry are booming, it is expected that the output will continue to increase. In recent years, ductile iron pipe centrifugal casting production lines have gradually been put into operation, and so the share of centrifugally cast ductile iron pipes will increase greatly.

Pipe fitting, fasteners for construction work, and metallic parts for transmission lines are made of malleable iron. This has increased the output of castings made from this material, as has the prosperity of the architectural industry and rising export demand.

Other castings include those for machine, textile, light, and handicraft industries. The leisure goods industry is just emerging, and so its demand for castings is still very limited.

Demand in 2000

Because of china's industrial and economic reform and opening policy, gross national product is expected to increase at a rate of eight to nine per cent annually. Large scale construction and foreign trading will continue to increase, and casting production will rise to meet both domestic and export demand. Output will also be affected by other factors such as :

The China Foundry Association predicts that casting output will increased by an average of four to five per cent annually, and total output is expected to reach 13.5 million tons by the year 2000.
 
 

Back to home: Foundry China