Vietnam Structural Steel Fabrication Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Vietnam Structural Steel Fabrication Market Trends and Insights

China+1 FDI and Manufacturing Expansion Fueling Factories, Warehouses, and Industrial Park Builds

In the first seven months of 2025, foreign investors invested USD 24.09 billion in Vietnam, with 56.5% allocated to the manufacturing sector. This investment is leading to the construction of clear-span warehouses, multi-bay assembly halls, and mezzanine-supported clean rooms, all using structural-steel frames. Samsung's USD 500 million expansion of its display module facility in Bac Ninh required 18,000 tonnes of hot-rolled and cold-formed steel sections. To reduce tenant fit-out times, industrial-park developers in Binh Duong and Dong Nai are pre-fabricating standardized 10,000-square-meter shells. The Ministry of Planning and Investment aims to have 400 operational industrial zones by 2030, increasing annual roofing demand by about 2 million square meters. Certified fabricators skilled in producing repetitive geometries with tight tolerances are securing most of these orders.

National Infrastructure Push—Ports, Expressways, Metros, Airports—Driving Steel-Intensive Structures

In late 2024, Parliament approved a USD 67 billion high-speed rail project connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This project is expected to require approximately 1.2 million tonnes of structural steel between 2027 and 2035. By 2030, expressways will increase from 1,800 kilometers in 2024 to 5,000 kilometers. At the same time, metro systems will add 150 kilometers of elevated guideway. The first phase of Long Thanh International Airport will use 80,000 tonnes of steel framing for terminal roofs, bridges, and cargo facilities. Upgrades at Hai Phong and Cai Mep ports will include automated gantries with tubular columns to improve speed and seismic resilience. These projects will strengthen order pipelines for Vietnam's structural steel fabrication market and provide long-term visibility for capacity planning.

Renewable-Energy Build-Out Lifting Demand for Towers and Lattice Structures

Vietnam's eighth Power Development Plan aims to achieve 150 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030, including 6 gigawatts of offshore wind. Offshore foundations and transition pieces built to DNV-GL standards require 2,000 tonnes of steel per turbine set. This demand is challenging the capacity of Vietnamese yards and attracting proposals from European joint ventures. Onshore turbines are increasing in height from 80 meters to 120 meters, raising the steel content per tower by approximately 100 tonnes. EVN is investing USD 3.2 billion to upgrade the grid, adding 8,000 kilometers of 500-kV lines by 2028, with each kilometer requiring 40 tonnes of lattice steel. These developments highlight a strong and sustained demand for structural steel fabrication in Vietnam.

Urbanization and High-Rise/Mixed-Use Development Boosting Demand for Steel Frames

In 2024, urbanization in Vietnam reached 44.3%, with cities adding 1.2 million residents annually. Developers in Ho Chi Minh City's Thu Thiem and Hanoi's Tay Ho districts are replacing concrete with steel cores. This change reduces foundation loads by up to 25% and shortens floor cycles by about 30%. Steel is also preferred for mixed-use podiums due to its ability to provide column-free retail spans. Revised seismic rules, effective in 2025, promote the use of moment-resisting steel frames for towers taller than 15 stories. Real-estate investment trusts now require AWS D1.1 welding and third-party inspections, leading projects to larger certified shops and driving growth in Vietnam's structural steel fabrication market.

Steel Input-Price Volatility and Reliance on Imported Plate Squeezing Margins

In 2024, Vietnam imported 12.6 million tonnes of hot-rolled coil. Anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese plates, ranging from 6.4% to 34.27%, have increased landed cost volatility by up to 20% per quarter. Domestic mills in Vietnam cannot produce high-strength plates. As a result, fabricators source S355 and ASTM A572 materials from Japan, South Korea, or India, paying a premium of 18%–22% over regional benchmarks. Shops without long-term contracts face margin erosion as clients enforce stricter weld-quality and traceability standards. Price fluctuations are likely to persist as a challenge for Vietnam's structural steel fabrication market until new rolling lines become operational.

Fragmented Capacity and Quality-Assurance Gaps Limiting Smaller Players

Approximately 280 active shops are operating nationwide, but fewer than 40 have ISO 3834 certification. Only 15 shops hold EN 1090 Execution Class 3 or AWS D1.1 accreditation. Certified fabricators charge a price premium of 25%–30% and secure most export and multinational contracts. Many shops are family-owned and employ fewer than 100 workers. These shops often lack the funds for advanced technologies like ultrasonic testing or robotic welding and face challenges with the paperwork required by Japanese, Korean, and Australian buyers. A proposed rule requiring ISO 3834-2 certification for public works projects over USD 5 million could drive consolidation and change the competitive dynamics of Vietnam's structural steel fabrication market^{[1]Vietnam Steel Association, “2025 Fabricator Certification Survey,” vnsteel.vn}.

Segment Analysis

By Product Type: Tubular Sections Accelerate as Modular Construction Scales

Heavy sections controlled 39.8% of the Vietnam structural steel fabrication market share in 2024, reflecting their dominance in high-rise cores, bridge girders, and airport spans. Tubular and hollow sections, however, are forecast to climb at a 9.12% CAGR to 2030 and will outpace all other profiles as modular offshore platforms and pre-engineered buildings specify round or rectangular hollows for torsional rigidity. ATAD Steel’s cold-formed truss system, launched in 2025, cuts steel weight by 30% while bridging 40 meters, illustrating the engineering pivot toward lighter, higher-strength shapes. Wind-turbine towers and transmission monopoles require seamless pipe up to 4.5 meters in diameter, driving investment in spiral-weld mills and submerged-arc lines. High-strength grades such as S460 are now welcomed under the 2025 code, enabling fabricators to trim profile weights without sacrificing load capacity and helping keep transportation and erection costs in check.

With growth anchored in renewable-energy and logistics facilities, tubular sections position certified fabricators to secure export contracts that favor aesthetic columns and corrosion-resistant coatings. The Vietnam structural steel fabrication market size attributed to tubular products will be reinforced by local content quotas mandating 30% value in wind towers. Heavy sections remain indispensable for mainline viaducts and metro guideways, but their share is slipping as engineers adopt composite design and high-strength steel. Light cold-formed members, meanwhile, fill low-rise warehouses and data-center skids where thinner webs and reduced foundation loads are strategic advantages. Specialty items such as plate-worked girders and process modules appear in oil, gas, and chemical plants and should maintain a modest but high-margin niche^{[2]ATAD Steel, “Cold-Formed Truss Launch,” atad.vn}.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User Industry: Construction Dominates, Power and Energy Grows Fastest

Construction ended 2024 with 56.7% of demand, reinforcing its status as the anchor vertical within the Vietnam structural steel fabrication market. Infrastructure transport—bridges, metro viaducts, airport concourses—consumes roughly 45 kilograms of steel per covered square meter, almost twice the intensity of residential projects. The power and energy segment, however, is racing ahead with a 9.34% CAGR through 2030, thanks to the 6-gigawatt offshore-wind pipeline and EVN’s USD 3.2 billion high-voltage grid expansion. Each kilometer of 500-kV line draws 40 tonnes of lattice steel, ensuring steady workloads for certified tower shops.

Industrial buildings, especially electronics and automotive lines, lean heavily on pre-engineered structures for fast completion and code compliance, while commercial projects specify steel for column-free retail spans. Manufacturing process skids, conveyor trestles, and mezzanines are another bright spot as global brands automate Vietnamese lines. Offshore LNG terminals and API-certified platforms place unique demands on weld procedures and heat-treated plate, niches that only a handful of local yards can serve. These dynamics collectively diversify revenue streams and strengthen the Vietnam structural steel fabrication industry across economic cycles.

By Fabrication Process: Welding Leads as Automation Reshapes Cost Curves

Welding owned 33.1% of fabrication activity in 2024, and its 9.55% CAGR to 2030 marks the fastest expansion among process categories. When paired with robotic gantries, weld speeds climb to 1,200 millimeters per minute, cutting labor per tonne by 35% and slashing defect rates below 1%. Cutting—laser, plasma, and water-jet—follows closely, though commoditized CNC tables limit margin upside. Bending and roll-forming serve the tubular and cold-formed boom, where precise angles reduce fit-up rework. High-speed machining centers address lattice-tower flanges and precision bearing seats, but the capital intensity narrows adoption to larger players.

Automation is a clear separator. The Vietnam structural steel fabrication market rewards facilities that integrate cutting, beveling, and welding in single-piece flow, allowing real-time seam tracking and automatic parameter adjustment. Smaller shops relying on stick welding face rising rework and quality-audit costs. Finishing steps—galvanizing, paint, and fireproofing—remain critical for offshore and energy contracts, where warranty obligations stretch over 20 years. With labor costs inching up in urban centers, even mid-sized fabricators are budgeting for additional welding robots and MES software to protect margins.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 40.2% of demand in 2024 on the strength of multinational campuses, container-terminal upgrades, and high-rise development. However, rising land prices and congestion are pushing logistics developers toward Binh Duong and Dong Nai, leading to a wider distribution of fabrication contracts across the southern economic corridor. Da Nang is emerging as the fastest-growing region, with a projected 9.91% CAGR through 2030. Its deepwater port is handling larger turbine components, and the government has designated the city as a renewable energy supply chain hub. Wind-tower yards benefit from shorter haulage routes to Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces, while power grid upgrades in Da Nang reduce outage risks, attracting investors.

Hanoi’s market share is increasing due to metro expansions and administrative projects. In contrast, Hai Phong faces port congestion, causing scheduling uncertainties and shifting some contracts southward. Long Thanh International Airport, located in Dong Nai, is driving demand across the southern cluster. The airport has absorbed 80,000 tonnes of steel for roofs, bridges, and freight halls. Northern fabricators benefit from proximity to Chinese material suppliers but face stricter air-emission regulations. They are required to install bag-house systems or consider relocation to comply with these regulations^{[3]Ministry of Planning and Investment, “Industrial Zone Expansion Plan,” mpi.gov.vn}.

Central coast yards are competing for offshore wind monopiles, supported by policy incentives favoring local content. This regional specialization highlights the diversification of the Vietnamese structural steel fabrication market. The market is expanding beyond traditional strongholds like Ho Chi Minh City and is penetrating secondary industrial zones, driven by infrastructure developments and government policies.