I. Domestic Market: Infrastructure Underpins Demand, Exports Drive Growth

1. Policy Drivers: Dual Impetus from Infrastructure Investment and Green Transition

• 加码专项债与超长期特别国债 (Special-Purpose Bonds and Ultra-Long-Term Special Treasury Bonds Boost)：In 2025, the Ministry of Finance pre-allocated the 2026 local government debt quota and arranged 500 billion yuan from the remaining quota to support infrastructure. Projects such as water conservancy, urban pipeline renovation, and underground utility tunnels released significant demand, driving a 15%-20% year-on-year growth in the consumption of welded pipes . For instance, national-level projects like the follow-up of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development initiative spurred demand for grouting steel pipes—particularly tunnel-used steel floral pipes and high-pressure foundation reinforcement grouting pipes .

• 绿色化与智能化政策导向 (Green and Intelligent Policy Orientation)：The Steel Industry Carbon Peaking Implementation Plan mandates full-process ultra-low emission transformation by 2025, forcing enterprises to phase out backward production capacity (e.g., small-diameter rolling mills below φ100) and elevate the proportion of high-performance grouting steel pipes (such as weathering steel and stainless steel variants) . Leading enterprises like Youfa Steel Pipe reduced hot-rolling energy consumption by 12.3% through digital transformation and developed degradable environmental-friendly grout-matched products .

2. Market Performance: Supply-Demand Differentiation and Countercyclical Export Growth

• 基建需求支撑韧性 (Resilient Infrastructure Demand)：Tunnel projects (e.g., Sichuan-Tibet Railway, undersea tunnels) and new energy infrastructure (e.g., photovoltaic bracket foundations, hydrogen storage and transportation pipelines) drove a 12%-18% year-on-year growth in grouting steel pipe demand .

• 地产拖累传统需求 (Real Estate Drags Traditional Demand)：New real estate construction area dropped 18% year-on-year, shrinking demand for construction-used welded pipes by approximately 8%. However, the penetration rate of prefabricated buildings rose to 35%, boosting demand for deep-processed products like square and rectangular pipes by 6% .

• Domestic Demand Structural Adjustment：

• Export Volume Hits Record High：In 2025, seamless steel pipe exports are expected to exceed 5.8 million tons, a 1.7% year-on-year increase, with grouting steel pipes (e.g., high-pressure seamless grouting pipes for oil and gas) accounting for 22% . The U.S., India, Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia), and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE) emerged as key growth markets, fueled by local infrastructure investment and energy development needs. For example, oil pipeline projects under Saudi Arabia’s "Vision 2030" drove a 30% year-on-year surge in China’s grouting steel pipe exports to the region .

3. Technological Upgrading: Intelligence and High-Performance Material Breakthroughs

• Stainless Steel Grouting Pipes：The application proportion of 316L stainless steel in marine engineering (e.g., cross-sea bridge pile foundations) rose from 12% in 2023 to 25% in 2025, with its Cl⁻ corrosion resistance (critical concentration >20,000 ppm) meeting harsh environmental requirements .

• Composite Grouting Materials：New materials like epoxy resin-cement-based dual-liquid grout and nano-silicate grout saw their penetration rate reach 18%, with setting time shortened to within 24 hours and compressive strength up to 30 MPa .

• Intelligent Monitoring Technology Popularization：Leading enterprises launched smart grouting pipes equipped with pressure sensors, enabling real-time monitoring of grout diffusion range and pressure changes with an error rate below ±2%, significantly improving construction efficiency and safety .

• Accelerated New Material Application：

II. International Market: Emerging Demand Rises Amid Trade Pressure

1. Demand Growth Regions

• U.S.：The "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" boosted construction of oil and gas pipelines and LNG facilities. In 2025, China’s grouting steel pipe exports to the U.S. grew 22% year-on-year, with high-pressure seamless grouting pipes accounting for over 60% .

• India："Make in India" initiatives for highways and railways drove demand for foundation reinforcement grouting pipes. China’s exports to India rose 18% year-on-year but faced price competition from local enterprises .

• Southeast Asia：Accelerated urbanization in Vietnam and Indonesia fueled demand for tunnel grouting pipes. China’s exports to the region grew 25% year-on-year, capturing 45% of the local market .

2. Trade Barriers and Cost Pressures

• EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)：Set to take full effect in 2026, CBAM is expected to increase grouting steel pipe export costs by 15%-20%, forcing enterprises to adopt low-carbon processes such as electric arc furnace steelmaking .

• Raw Material Price Volatility：Iron ore prices rose 8% year-on-year in 2025, while coking coal prices climbed to 1,400 yuan/ton due to safety inspections and production cuts, increasing grouting steel pipe production costs by approximately 10% .

III. Industry Trends and Challenges at the End of 2025

1. Short-Term Trends (Q4 2025)

• Price Volatility and Decline：Affected by the off-season for construction in northern China, welded pipe prices dropped 3%-5% month-on-month, while export orders supported relatively stable prices of seamless grouting steel pipes .

• Strengthened Policy Support Expectations：If steel mill production cuts fall short of expectations in November, inventory pressure may intensify. However, the issuance of special-purpose bonds and ultra-long-term special treasury bonds is expected to ease supply-demand imbalances .

2. Long-Term Trends (2026-2030)

• Market Scale Expansion：The global grouting steel pipe market is projected to exceed 800 billion yuan by 2030, with a 4.2% CAGR, driven by emerging segments such as hydrogen storage and transportation pipes and submarine cable protection pipes .

• Increased Industry Concentration：The CR10 (top 10 enterprises’ concentration ratio) will rise from 38% in 2025 to 45% in 2030, as leading enterprises consolidate advantages through mergers and technological barriers .

3. Challenges and Responses

• Cost Control：Enterprises need to offset raw material price hikes through intelligent transformation (e.g., AI visual inspection to reduce defect rates) and industrial chain integration (e.g., upstream layout of iron ore imports) .

• Technological Innovation：Increase R&D investment (targeting R&D intensity from 2.1% to 3.8%), focusing on breakthroughs in high-end products such as X100 ultra-high-strength grouting pipes and ceramic-coated steel pipes resistant to 1,000°C .

IV. Conclusion