In China, the steel structure industry is highly marketized and the market competition is fierce.At present, there are about 4,000-5,000 steel structure enterprises in China.According to the statistics of China steel structure association, up to now, there are more than 200 enterprises with the qualification of steel structure manufacturing enterprises, but most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises with an annual output of less than 10,000 tons, and only more than 30 enterprises with an annual output of more than 100,000 tons.Most enterprises have small production scale and low industry concentration.

1. Market segmentation of different business types of steel structure

In the field of light steel structure, due to the relatively low entry barriers, there are a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the competition, presenting a strong regional competition pattern, the market competition is fierce, and the product gross margin is relatively low.The focus of competition is reflected in the scale advantage of factory manufacturing.

In large-span space steel structure, heavy steel structure, bridge steel structure, large boiler frame, offshore steel structures, such as high-end applications, due to the steel structure engineering technology content high, make difficult to install, high capital requirements, qualification requirements, high quality and high accuracy requirement, production enterprises is relatively small, and thus high barriers to entry, competition in the market depends on the enterprise technical and financial strength, scale, product quality and brand, product gross margin is higher.The main competitors are the industry leaders with the super qualification of steel structure manufacturing enterprises. The competition environment is relatively relaxed and the market has a broad prospect. It is expected that the steel structure engineering will become the focus of competition in the future.

2. Regional distribution

Most large-scale steel structure enterprises are concentrated in Shanghai, zhejiang, anhui, shandong, guangdong, Beijing and other places. The development of steel structure manufacturing industry in coastal and central cities is in the forefront of the country, and the west is relatively backward.

3. Future competition in the industry

1) industry concentration gradually increases

According to the national industrial policy adjustment, some small and medium-sized enterprises in the competition will be phased out, some have technology advantage, scale advantage, innovation advantage, brand advantage and customer advantage, with design and production installation integration management strength, enterprises will have a certain competitiveness in the international market in the competition through market development, expansion of production capacity, technology upgrade gradually become bigger and stronger, industry concentration will continue to improve in the future.

2) "design, manufacturing and installation" integrated business development model

International steel structure advantage enterprises mainly adopt the "design, manufacturing and installation" integrated business model.

At present, a large number of domestic steel structure enterprises are restricted by the technical capacity, mostly adopt the business model of component processing and installation, and the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises are mainly component processing, profitability can not compare with the leading enterprises in the industry.

Excellent steel structure enterprises must have a skilled installation team, with strict construction organization, perfect construction scheme, skilled installation technology, and with advanced installation equipment, so as to provide guarantee for the construction of quality engineering.

With steel structure increasingly fierce market competition, some high-end steel structure enterprise on the basis of the steel structure products manufacturing gradually extended front end business chain, adopted the international mainstream "design, manufacture and installation of integrated management of the business model, in the design and installation link increase competitiveness, thus obtained is higher than the industry average level of gross margin.

3) competition in high-end markets such as heavy steel structures will become increasingly fierce

In the steel structure market, long-span space steel structure, high-rise heavy steel structure, bridge steel structure, large boiler steel frame, offshore platform steel structure and other steel structures have high market access barriers and high added value based on their high technical requirements and technical difficulties.At the same time, the rapid development of the downstream industry has an obvious guiding and pulling effect on the heavy steel structure products, and continues to guide the rapid upgrading of steel structure products to adapt to the rapid development of industrialization, urbanization, infrastructure construction and so on.In the future, with the continuous and rapid upgrading of industrial products, some enterprises with strong technology upgrading ability and quick adaptation to the market will obtain higher added value of products, and the competition situation in high-end markets such as heavy steel structure will become increasingly fierce.

4) compete in regional markets around industrial layout

In terms of regional distribution, most large-scale steel structure enterprises are concentrated in Shanghai, zhejiang, anhui, jiangsu and other Yangtze river delta regions, as well as tianjin, Beijing and other beijing-tianjin-tangshan regions. The vast central and western regions are in the initial stage.In recent years, with the rise of the central part of the country and the implementation of the western development strategy, the investment in the central and western regions has gradually increased, providing a broad market space for steel structure enterprises, and the central and southern, southwest and northwest regions are gradually becoming emerging regions for the development of steel structure industry.In the future, with the emerging late-mover advantage in the central and western regions, some enterprises with competitive advantages in the eastern coastal regions and advanced layout in the central and western regions will take the lead in the regional market competition.

On the whole, there are many steel structure enterprises in China, and the market is still fragmented. The competition in some fields is becoming increasingly fierce, and the market integration is underway. In the future, the industry concentration will be gradually increased.