Wire, cable, and optical fiber global demand: a market analysis

CRU, a leading provider of in-depth market analysis and consulting, has recently published a detailed study about the wire, cable, and optical fiber markets around the world.

When it comes to cable demand, figures have been trending upwards in China since the economy re-opened in March/April 2020. Initially, CRU was expecting the domestic demand to contract. Now, the experts forecast that the local demand will slightly grow.
China’s GDP grew by 4.9% in Q3 2020, an unthinkable rate for the rest of the world. CRU expects world ex-China demand to contract by near double-digits in 2021. North America and Europe are recovering at different paces, and the initial slowdown was responsible for a 5-6% contraction in insulated metallic wire and cable demand by the end of 2020.
Although the global wire and cable market is expected to rise again in 2021, analysts claim figures will not reach 2019’s levels until 2022. However, copper prices are expected to remain high throughout 2021: thus, market value will bounce back at almost US$180 bn.
Speaking about optical fiber, instead, for the first time in seven quarters the global demand has increased. China is the main responsible for this growth, with a rise of 10% y/y in Q3. The rest of the world is not going that well. As far as Europe is concerned, CRU has made multiple downward revisions to forecasts. Demand in Q4 2020 suffered because of delays in cable deployments due to skilled labor shortages.

The other side of the coin of these decreasing numbers is the acceleration of digital trends, which means efforts to enhance fixed lines and increase FTTH accessibility all over the world in a general attempt to eliminate digital divide.

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Image: CRU