Recently, driven by the increased investment in domestic infrastructure, the expansion of the new energy industry and the upgrading of manufacturing, the non-alloy drawn steel wire industry has shown a favorable trend of accelerated technological breakthroughs and expanded market scale. Data shows that the market size of steel wire in China reached 285 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to exceed 320 billion yuan in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate maintained at around 7.5%. Among them, non-alloy drawn steel wire, as a basic category, has seen a continuous increase in demand in fields such as construction and automobiles.
Technological innovation has become the core driving force for enterprises to break through. Recently, Ansteel Wire Rope Company has successfully produced 2160MPa grade high-strength and high-toughness steel wire based on high-end ZQ2000 material. By optimizing the wire matching process and steel core plastic coating technology, the fatigue resistance and breaking force of the product have been significantly improved. Jiangsu Naisi New Materials has broken through by transforming its product structure, shifting 90% of its production capacity to rubber hose steel wire. Its independently developed helical wire structure semiconductor cutting steel wire has increased cutting efficiency by 30% and reduced wire usage by 20%. Its domestic market share has exceeded 50%. Recently, several samples of rubber hose wire have been sent to Italy to expand overseas markets.
Intelligent transformation reconstructs the industrial production model. Zhongtian Steel's Huai 'an base has built a fully intelligent factory. Through 5G and industrial Internet, over 2,000 pieces of equipment are interconnected in real time. A single production line can complete the entire process of steel wire drawing in just 28 seconds, reducing labor costs by 50% and achieving a fault warning accuracy rate of 98%. The patented drawing device of Xinji Aosen Metal, through real-time monitoring by a diameter gauge and a tension adjustment mechanism, has solved the problem of uneven drawing in traditional equipment, raising the stability of finished product quality to a new level. These practices have driven the penetration rate of intelligent production lines in the industry to rise from 40% to 55%.
The market demand structure shows a significant upgrading feature. The new energy vehicle sector has become a growth engine. The newly launched tire ring steel wire products of Leida Steel Cord contributed 50% of its sales from January to April. Its products with a tensile strength exceeding 2,200 megapascals have entered the supply chains of international tire enterprises such as Cooper and Nexans. In the infrastructure sector, the construction of ultra-high voltage and offshore wind power has driven the demand for corrosion-resistant steel wires. It is estimated that the demand for galvanized steel wires used in transmission towers will reach 1.15 million tons by 2025. The export market has performed outstandingly. The export volume of steel wire is expected to increase by 12% to 4.8 million tons in 2025, mainly flowing to the countries along the "Belt and Road".
The industry's development still faces challenges such as fluctuations in raw material prices and rising environmental protection costs. In 2024, the price of wire rods is expected to increase by 18% year-on-year, and the environmental protection renovation costs for key enterprises will rise by 15%. However, with the recycling rate of waste steel wire rising to 92% and the energy consumption per unit product dropping by 8%, green production is offsetting the cost pressure. In the future, as the domestic production rate of high-end products advances from 60% to 70%, the non-alloy drawn steel wire industry will achieve a leap from scale expansion to quality improvement under the dual drive of technological innovation and green transformation.