Mena wire and cable market reaches $15.4bn
01 August 2013
THE wire and cable market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has weathered the impact of the Arab Spring to steadily recover to reach $15.4 billion in 2012, up by 5.4 per cent from 2011, says a study by Integer Research.
In its report entitled ‘Wire and Cable Focus Report: Middle East and North Africa Markets’, the specialist provider of research, data, analysis and consultancy services forecasts a growth in demand for wire and cable in the region to 2017.
The report’s editor and senior analyst Andrea Valentini comments: “The short-term effects of the Arab Spring including project cancellations and delays have been disruptive. However, the rebuilding and opening up of some North African markets post-Arab Spring, plus increased investment in infrastructure by GCC governments seeking to maintain political stability, should allow further gains in Mena demand.”
The market for insulated wire and cable in the Mena region has experienced highs and lows in recent years. The rally in oil prices from the mid-2000s to 2008 fuelled a boom in demand for cable from construction and infrastructure developments in the GCC, resulting in many companies adding cable-making capacity, the study indicates.
Meanwhile, European OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have actively invested in North Africa’s wiring harness assembly industry, boosting local wire and cable consumption.
Since the boom, the Mena cable industry has faced upheavals from both the Arab Spring and global financial crisis, resulting in new capacity coinciding with a sharp drop in demand for cable. In 2009, consumption contracted by 28 per cent year-on-year to $8.4 billion.
Within Mena, the North Africa and GCC cable markets are distinct, even though they share a common Arab heritage.
“The GCC cable consumption is much larger than North Africa’s, and is dominated by power cable and building wire. In 2012, the GCC market reached almost 1.2 million gross cable tonnes, compared with 520,000 tonnes in North Africa,” says Josie Armstrong, business manager of the Wire and Cable Team.
“In contrast, a key determinant of North African cable consumption is the outsourcing of wiring harness assembly from European automotive and other OEM supply chains,” she says.
Integer Research is a specialist provider of research, data, analysis and consultancy services across a range of global industrial markets, including wire and cable, fertilisers and emissions.
- Cable management is vital for data centres
- Cat 8 – the future of cabling in data centres
- Mena wire and cable market reaches $15.4bn
