Valve Mkt. to Remain at $47 Bil. in ‘09

World sales of industrial valves will remain at $47 billion this year, with slow growth over the next few years, according to a report by McIlvaine Company (www.mcilvainecompany.com). Sales losses in electronics, iron and steel, metals, pulp and paper will be offset by gains in municipal water, municipal wastewater, power and pharmaceutical. Regionally, McIlvaine predicts Europe, Africa and the Americas will experience shrinking markets, while Asia will experience modest growth to offset the declines elsewhere.

Some industries in China are expected to show fairly robust growth. Municipal wastewater valve purchases, for example, are forecast to be up from $673 million to $778 million in 2009, driven in part by stimulus for wastewater treatment upgrades.

Despite slowing growth in power overall, McIlvaine predicts the valve market in this sector will be up almost $200 million to $2.2 billion. According to McIlvaine, the replacement valve market in Chinese coal-fired power plants is now twice as large as that in the U.S. and accounts for more than 30 percent of the world market.

In the United States, McIlvaine says the strong sectors will be municipal water, municipal wastewater and power. Stimulus funds are expected to boost the water markets in particular. Meanwhile, the power market figures to benefit from billions of dollars of environmental retrofits. The addition of scrubbers to many plants will result in substantial purchases of slurry and clear water valves.

For more information McIlvaine Company’s Industrial Valves: World Markets report, visit www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/water.html#n028.