Demand in China for industrial fasteners is projected  to increase 9.4% annually to RMB 40 bn(3.9 bn euros) in 2010 according to Cleveland-based Freedonia Group in its lastest industry report.

Gains will be supported by rapid growth in manufacturing production,especially of industrial machinery and motor vehicles. Increasing production of electronic products will also provide growth opportunities, although these gains will be less pronounced than over the past decade. In addition, industrial fastener demand will be driven by expansion and modernisation of China's infrustrcture and building constructon activities. Functional competition from alternative joining technologies such as adhesives and welding as well as new materials and manufacturing methods that reduce the number of fasteners required in durable goods production will restrain further increase.

Non-threaded sales will post the strongest gains among standard fastener types,raising 10.4% annually through 2010, stimulated by rapid growth in durable goods production and construction activity, as well as by further technological innovations in non-threaded fastener design. Externally threaded fasteners wii remain the dominant standard fastener type, accounting for nearly three-fifths of total fastener demand, as these fasteners are less likely to be replaced by alternative joining methods. Aerospace-grade fastener demand will outpace advances for standdard fasteners,rising 12% per year through 2010, spurred by government investment in non-building construction, commercial aircraft, and aerospace and defense applications. Neverthless, aerospace fasteners will continue to comprise less than one percent of total demand. By way of comparison, demand for aerospace-grade fasteners in the US will constitute nearly 20% of total fastener demand in 2010.

Construction demad for fasteners will outpace that of both the OEM and maintenance/repair/operations(MRO) markets.Demand for fasteners in construction applications will increase 10.8% annually through 2010,driven by government funding for large-scale infrustructure construction and government efforts to increase home ownership. However, the OEM market will remain the largest in China, as demand is stimulated by rapid growth in industrial machinery,motor vehicles, and eletrical and electronic products markets