IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘U.S. – Insulated Wire And Cable – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights‘. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The U.S., being the leading importer in the global electric cable market, sharply increased purchases last year. In January-October 2021, cable shipments to America rose by 43% to 920M tonnes or by 28% to $19B in value terms compared to the same period of 2020.

From January to October 2021, the U.S. purchased 920M tonnes of cables, a 43% increase compared to the same period a year earlier. In value terms, supplies rose by 28% to over $19B. These figures reflect the total imports of aluminum, copper and other winding wires, insulated electric conductors, insulated ignition wiring sets and coaxial cables.

High demand for wires in the U.S. was induced by the recovery of industrial manufacturing and the delayed spillovers of the construction boom, such as equipping new residential areas with electricity and telecom networks. The average import price of electric wires and cables stood at $20,750 per tonne over the period under review, 11% less than in the same period in 2020. This also contributed to the market growth, making cables more affordable.

Mexico and China remain the largest providers of electric wires to the U.S. In Q1-Q3 2021, American imports from Mexico soared by 63% to 361M tonnes or by 30% to $8.6B in value terms against the figures for Q1-Q3 2020. During that time, the average price of insulated cables supplied from Mexico amounted to $23,872 per tonne, falling by 25% compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, purchases from China grew by 27% to 112M tonnes, or by 15% to $2.5B in value terms. The average price for cables imported from China dropped by 11% to $22,030 per tonne.

U.S. Imports of Electric Wires and Cables by Country

In 2020, wire and cable imports into the U.S. dropped dramatically to 962K tonnes, decreasing by -20.4% compared with the previous year’s figure. In value terms, supplies fell to $18.4B (IndexBox estimates).

Mexico (417K tonnes) constituted the largest supplier of wire and cable to the U.S., accounting for a 43% share of total imports. Moreover, wire and cable imports from Mexico exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, China (148K tonnes), threefold. Viet Nam (65K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total imports with a 6.8% share.

In value terms, Mexico ($9.4B) constituted the largest supplier of wire and cable to the U.S., comprising 51% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by China ($2.9B), with a 16% share of total imports. It was followed by Viet Nam, with a 6.1% share.

In 2020, supplies from Mexico dropped by -14.6% y-o-y. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average annual rates of imports growth: China (-15.7% y-o-y) and Viet Nam (+20.6% y-o-y).

Source: IndexBox Platform