The report below gives a good overview of the Winter 2026 M&A activity in the Metal Fabrication Industry Sector. In Q4 2025, the Global Metal Fabrication market faced challenges from falling steel prices and a seasonal dip in demand. Despite these headwinds, infrastructure and automotive demand kept several subsectors resilient. During this period, Hot-rolled coil averaged $800-$815 per short ton, while structural steel prices dropped 6.63% quarter-over-quarter. This price decline occurred alongside maintenance outages that reduced weekly output by approximately 140,000-150,000 tons. Although carbon steel was under pressure, there were still areas of strength in specialty materials with fabricated steel PPI rising by 7.6% year-over-year through August and aluminum shape prices rising by 22.8%. The forging and stamping sectors remained robust in 2025, supported by steady demand from the automotive and aerospace industries. Valued at approximately $525 billion, this market is projected to grow at a 5.6% CAGR. Similarly, the architectural and structural metal sectors saw significant gains from infrastructure and pre-engineered building projects, reflected by an 8.8% annual increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for joists and rebar. Spring and wire products increased to $61.56 billion with a CAGR of 3.4% due to EV and construction demand. Machine shops and fastener production hit $436.7 billion, with reshoring and increasing precision demand in robotics. Other artificial metal products benefited due to greater automation and the use of IoT. Asia-Pacific regions were at the forefront of global growth due to the fast industrialization, and North America benefited due to reshoring efforts despite price volatility. The 2026 prognosis is optimistic, as the recovery is expected with the help of reduced interest rates and increased infrastructure expenditures.
Posted by Jim Zipursky.