Welding Equipment Market Analysis

Welding Equipment Industry Insights

Technology Analysis

Arc welding holds the largest share in 2024, of 75%. It is the preferred technology in offshore work and manufacturing pipelines. Further, it is a cost-effective, versatile, and flexible welding process that is deployed across a wide range of industries. It is a fusion welding process that is generally used in steel structure fabrication in vehicles and construction.

Stick welding is the most accessible type of arc welding (requiring the least specialized equipment). It encompasses several methods, including tungsten/inert gas (TIG) welding, metal/inert gas (MIG) welding, flux cored-arc welding (FCAW), and submerged-arc welding (SAW), each suited for different applications.

Resistance welding is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period. Its demand is surging owing to the need for innovative and precise welding of metal sheets of high-strength and low-alloy components. It is used in high-volume manufacturing environments, such as in the automotive sector, for processes such as projection welding, spot welding, and seam welding.

The technologies analyzed in the report are:

• Arc Welding (Largest Category)
  • Shielded metal/stick arc welding
  • MIG welding
  • TIG welding
  • Plasma arc welding
  • Others
• Resistance Welding (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Laser Beam Welding
• Oxy-Fuel Welding
• Others

Automation Type Analysis

The fully automatic category accounts for the largest market share, of 60%, in 2024, and it is also the fastest-growing category, with 6% CAGR. It is the most efficient technology, reliable, and time-effective, ensuring high-quantity production, optimum performance, and safety. The integration of automated robot systems over time has lessened the engagement of manual laborers in various industries, hence also reducing operational cost.

It is the best fit for large-scale production operations in sectors such as heavy engineering, oil and gas, automotive, and shipbuilding. Completely mechanized welding equipment controlled by artificial intelligence or industrial robots employs computerized actuators to achieve exact fitting and alignment of adjacent parts, warranting superior weld quality.

The automation types we have evaluated are:

• Fully automatic (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Semi-automatic
• Manual

Application Analysis

The automotive sector holds the largest market share, of 30%. Varying degrees of welding are availed for chassis manufacturing, frame construction, parts assembly, and exhaust system fabrication. To consolidate the sheet metal frames together, spot welding is the most sought-after in the automobile industry.

Likewise, TIG welding machines are designed to create a large number of precise and dependable components, such as small-diameter and thin-walled steel pipes and tubes, for motor vehicles. This method offers various filler metal options, aiding the production of high-tensile welds that resist corrosion and breaking.

The building and construction category is exhibiting the highest CAGR during the predicted period. The construction industry relies heavily on welding equipment and skilled manual laborers for projects such as buildings, pipelines, industrial facilities and warehouses, dams, and bridges. Quality welding ensures robust joints in construction projects, providing the strength needed to bear heavy loads and resist environmental conditions, such as seismic activity. In the same vein, in pipelines, welding safeguards critical joints by making them leakproof and durable enough to withstand high pressures and varying temperatures.

The applications analyzed in this report are:

• Automotive (Largest category)
• Building and Construction (Fastest growing category)
• Shipbuilding
• Heavy Engineering
• Aerospace and Defense
• Energy
• Oil and Gas
• Others