MEDICAL TUBING MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Size and Trends

The medical tubing market is estimated to be valued at USD 1,258.0 Mn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 2,274.6 Mn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2024 to 2031.

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The increase in minimally invasive surgeries and rising preference for customized medical tubing will drive the demand for medical tubing. Population aging and subsequent rise in chronic diseases will further contribute to the growth of the market. The trend gaining prominence in the medical tubing market is increased utilization of specialty tubing. Specialty tubing finds wide application in devices such as drug delivery systems, catheter assemblies, peristaltic pump tubing, and others. Specialty tubing offers advantages such as uniform diameter, smooth surface, and flexibility. Rising need for customized tubing compatible with advanced medical devices will boost the specialty tubing segment. Increased research on specialty biomaterials for tubing will further propel the market trends.

Market Driver – Increasing Demand for Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures

The demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures is undergoing robust growth in recent times, driven by the preference of both patients and surgeons for techniques that reduce recovery time and postoperative trauma. Minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy allow complex internal operations to be performed through small incisions as compared to traditional open surgeries. This paradigm shift towards minimal access interventions has significantly fuelled the requirements for fine-caliber medical metal tubing and customized tubing solutions in the country. Medical metal tubes find wide applications in minimally invasive devices such as guidewires, catheter delivery systems, endoscopes, balloon catheters, and coronary stents. The inherent properties of kink resistance, pushability, torque control, and flexibility make metal alloys suitable for manufacturing tubing used in operational tools for laparoscopy, arthroscopy, gastroscopy, and other such advanced procedures. Furthermore, customized metal tubing helps in designing slim trocars, cannulas, and other port systems to facilitate surgical access through small passages. The customer demand for innovative product designs with enhanced performance capabilities is also propelling tubing manufacturers to develop sophisticated nuanced alloy compositions and fabrication techniques.

Market Concentration and Competitive Landscape

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The use of coronary stent devices has been increasing significantly over the past few years. Coronary stents are tiny mesh tubes made from medical metal tubing that are used to open blocked arteries and improve blood flow to the heart. As the prevalence of heart diseases like coronary artery disease has been rising rapidly, more and more patients require angioplasty procedures where temporary scaffolds in the form of coronary stents are placed inside the arteries to keep them open. This rising demand for angioplasty and stent placement surgeries has resulted in the greater consumption of medical metal tubing that is needed to manufacture coronary stents. Most contemporary coronary stents are made of alloy metals like cobalt-chromium, platinum-chromium, or nickel-titanium due to their strength, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. The tubing used for making these stents undergoes complex machining and manufacturing processes to create the intricately designed metal mesh structure. The advancement of drug-eluting stents that can release medications has further boosted the usage of specialty medical metal tubing. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases will augment the requirement for coronary interventions like angioplasty and stent placement. Consequently, greater demand for the underlying medical metal tubing used for producing stents will drive higher growth in the market. For instance, in May, 2023 according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death among men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., while one person dies every 33 seconds in the U.S. from cardiovascular disease.

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The major factors restraining growth of the medical tubing market is increasing product recalls in the market. Reasons for recalls vary greatly, ranging from life-threatening malfunctions of pacemakers to simple labeling changes for non-implantable products. The action does not always mean products must be pulled; sometimes a recall means a product needs to be checked or fixed. For instance, in July 2023, Edwards Lifesciences, a medical technology company, announced the recall of Swan-Ganz Double Lumen Monitoring Catheter on July 4, 2023. The reason for the product recall was medical devices - labelling and packaging issues. Swan-Ganz catheter model 110F5 contains stainless steel bushings and is inappropriately labeled as MR safe. As per ASTM F2503, "MR safe" items include non-conducting, non-metallic, and non-magnetic items.

Market Opportunities – Emergence of Bioabsorbable Metal Stents

The emergence of bioabsorbable metal stents represents a major opportunity for growth in the global medical tubing market. Traditionally, stents have been made of non-absorbable metals like stainless steel or cobalt chromium. While effective, these permanent metal implants can cause complications like inflammation or thrombosis after being implanted. However, bioabsorbable stents made of metals like magnesium and iron start dissolving after their work of holding open an artery/vein is done. This eliminates the lifetime risk of complications from a permanent foreign metallic implant in the body. Bioabsorbable metal stents provide a better quality of life for patients in the long run. Most patients only required temporary scaffolding until the vessel heals post angioplasty or surgery. With bioabsorbable metal stents, patients do not have to be on lifelong blood thinners like with permanent metal stents. Additionally, future procedures requiring access to the same vessel, like repeat surgeries, become easier since there is no permanent implant left behind. Studies show that the absorption of the stent is complete within one to two years with surrounding tissue regrowth.

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The material segment includes stainless steel, titanium, nitinol (NiTi), and others. The stainless steel subsegment is expected to have 61.3% of the market share in 2024 owing to its inherent durability and cost-effectiveness. Being highly resistant to corrosion, stainless steel tubes retain their structural integrity over extended use without deterioration. This ensures safety and reliability in delivering fluids and gases to patients over long treatment periods. The corrosion resistance of stainless steel is achieved through the presence of chromium which forms a passive oxide layer that protects the underlying metal. This passive layer self-heals to maintain protection even if the surface is scratched. The durability of stainless steel tubes eliminate blockages and leakages caused by corrosion, thereby reducing maintenance and replacement costs for medical equipment manufacturers and healthcare facilities over time.

Insights, By Application: Catheters Dominate on Back of Rising Interventional Procedures

The application segment includes catheters & cannulas, drug delivery systems, dentist equipment, robotic surgery, and others. The catheters & cannulas subsegment is expected to have 34.1% of the market share in 2024 owing to the rising demand for minimally invasive procedures. Catheters are thin, flexible tubes that can be inserted into canals, vessels, passageways, or body cavities to allow drainage, injection of fluids, or access for surgical tools. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders and rising geriatric population have increased the demand for interventional treatments such as angioplasty and stent placements.

Insights, End User: Hospitals Account for the Major Demand due to Higher Inpatient Volume

The end user segment includes hospitals, home care settings, long term care, and ambulatory surgical centers. The hospitals subsegment is expected to have 37.2% of the market share in 2024 owing to higher inpatient volume and complex care requirements. Hospitals treat majority of serious medical conditions requiring surgical interventions, critical care, and long term management. As centers of specialty healthcare, hospitals house multi-disciplinary departments and sophisticated facilities to handle diverse acute and chronic cases. For example, cardiology hospitals perform a high number of cardiac procedures like angioplasty, valve replacement, and bypass surgeries which heavily rely on specialized medical tubing and catheters.

Regional Insights

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North America remains the dominant region in the global medical tubing market and is anticipated to hold 36.4% of the market share in 2024. The presence of leading medical device companies and stringent regulations ensure high quality products. The U.S. is the single largest market due to the large healthcare expenditure and advanced healthcare infrastructure. Major OEMs like Abbott, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific are based in the U.S., driving the local tubing demand. North American tubes are exported to other regions as well for their precision manufacturing capabilities.

Asia Pacific is emerging as the fastest growing regional market for medical tubing. Countries like China, India, and Japan are industrializing their healthcare sectors at a rapid pace. With growing medical tourism and expanding universal healthcare programs, the demand for high-quality tubing is increasing in Asia Pacific. Established players from the U.S. and Europe are setting up manufacturing facilities in Asia Pacific to cater to the local requirements. This is improving access while also making Asia an important export hub. Lower production costs make Asian tubes very attractive in pricing. Some Asian companies have developed core competencies in specialized tubing types like multilayer and micro-bore tubing. This is an important distinguishing factor for their regional and global sales. With rising incomes, Asia Pacific's growing middle class is able to afford better healthcare and treatment options. This consumer demand acts as a key driver for the medical tubing market expansion. Major industry tradeshows and conventions regularly being hosted in cities like Singapore and Tokyo are helping networking between global buyers and Asian suppliers. Overall, Asia Pacific offers tremendous potential for future market gains making it the most promising regional market globally.

Market Report Scope

Key Developments

• In July 2023, Eagle Stainless Tube & Fabrication, Inc., a small diameter stainless steel tubing supplier, announced the successful renewal of its ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 9001:2015 quality management certifications
• In May 2023, Biomerics, a leading vertically integrated contract manufacturer for the interventional medical device market, announced that it had entered into definitive agreements to merge with the medical business of Precision Concepts, a plastic manufacturer (“Precision Concepts Medical”). The transaction includes the acquisition of the medical businesses of Precision Concepts International (“PCI”) and Precision Concepts Group (“PCG”), headquartered in, North Carolina, U.S.
• In October 2022, Vance Street Capital LLC, a private equity firm, announced the acquisition of Mountain Manufacturing Technologies (MMT), a research & development-driven contract manufacturer with a full range of machining and fabricating capabilities for enhanced product design, prototyping, component manufacturing, and volume production
• In June 2022, DuPont, a manufacturer of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, announced the opening of its new DuPont Liveo Healthcare Solutions manufacturing facility located at the Cooper River Site in South Carolina, U.S. The new facility will expand production capacity for biopharmaceutical tubing extrusion to meet increased demand from Liveo customers. DuPont Liveo offers a wide range of silicone elastomers, from high-consistency rubbers (HCRs) and liquid silicone rubbers (LSRs) to soft filling elastomers.
• In February 2020, Accu-Tube, a developer of high-quality stainless-steel tubing, announced that the company has acquired Mercury Tube, a global manufacturer of high precision stainless steel and high nickel alloy tubing. Under this acquisition, Mercury Tube will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accu-Tube. This acquisition will help Accu-Tube broaden its product offerings to its medical customers.

*Definition: The medical tubing market caters to the production and distribution of tubing for use in medical devices and equipment. This includes various polymer-based tubes used for fluid transfer, drainage, gas delivery, device manufacturing, and others. Key end-use industries include healthcare facilities, medical device manufacturers, research labs, and others. Common medical applications of tubing include products like intravenous and feeding tubes, biopsy devices, catheter components, oxygen delivery masks and tubes, and tubing used in surgical and diagnostic equipment.

Market Segmentation

• Material Insights (Revenue, USD Mn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Stainless Steel
  • Titanium
  • Nitinol (NiTi)
  • Others
•  Application Insights (Revenue, USD Mn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Catheters & Cannulas
  • Drug Delivery Systems
  • Dentist Equipment
  • Robotic Surgery
  • Others
•  End User Insights (Revenue, USD Mn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Hospitals
  • Clinics
  • Ambulatory Surgical Centers
  • Others
• Regional Insights (Revenue, USD Mn, 2019 - 2031)
  • North America
    • U.S.
    • Canada
  • Latin America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Mexico
    • Rest of Latin America
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • U.K.
    • Spain
    • France
    • Italy
    • Russia
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • South Korea
    • ASEAN
    • Rest of Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
    • GCC Countries
    • Israel
    • Rest of Middle East
  • Africa
    • South Africa
    • North Africa
    • Central Africa
• Key Players Insights
  • Teshima International Corporation
  • Om Steel Tubes Ltd.
  • AMETEK. Inc.
  • Bison Stainless Tube, LLC.
  • K-Tube Technologies
  • Vita Needle Company
  • M&M International
  • Fuji Seiko
  • Viant
  • Minitubes
  • Accu-Tube
  • Alleima
  • American Tube Technology Inc.
  • Forefront Medical Technologies
  • Eagle Stainless Tube & Fabrication, Inc.