Vietnam Structural Steel Fabrication Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Vietnam Structural Steel Fabrication Market Trends and Insights

China + 1 FDI Wave Keeps Industrial Parks and Warehouse Builds on Record Pace

Multinationals committed USD 36.6 billion in 2024, 60% of it into manufacturing, as firms diversified away from China^{[1]Reuter Staff, “Vietnam lures record foreign investment as ‘China plus one’ strategy gains steam,” Reuters, reuters.com}. These investors favor clear-span steel warehouses that can be delivered in weeks, pushing fabricators to deploy CNC shearing and automated welding to hit four-week lead times. Industrial land rents in Binh Duong and Dong Nai jumped 15–20% in 2024, underscoring demand. As long as port dredging and grid upgrades keep pace, the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market will keep capturing FDI-led orders.

USD 120 Billion Infrastructure Pipeline Accelerates Long-Span Demand

Expressways, airports, and metros under the 2021-30 plan require tens of thousands of tonnes of fabricated girders^{[2]World Bank Press Office, “World Bank approves USD 500 million to support Vietnam’s green energy transition,” World Bank, worldbank.org}. Long Thanh International Airport alone calls for 90,000 m² of steel framing designed to TCVN 9386:2012 seismic codes. These projects widen the opportunity set for fabricators certified to EN 1090-1 execution classes, although land-acquisition delays can defer steel procurement by a year and compress margins when orders finally arrive.

Urban Densification Spurs Composite and Steel-Core High-Rises

Central-city land prices top USD 5,000 per m², so developers shift to taller towers that benefit from steel cores, slicing build time by 20-30%. These jobs demand ±2 mm tolerance over 100 m heights and mill certificates for HSLA grades, steering work to vertically integrated mills such as Hoa Phat. Mortgage tightening could, however, steer construction back to concrete-frame mid-rises.

Hyperscale Data-Centers After 2024 Localization Rules

Google opened a Vietnam Cloud region in September 2024. Server racks weighing 1.5–2 t/m² need seismic-rated frames with redundant load paths. Because typical project cycles run 12–18 months, clients award contracts only to fabricators that integrate BIM and pre-emptively resolve clashes.

Imported Slab and Coil Price Volatility Erodes Margins

Hot-rolled coil imports hit 1.2 million t in September 2024, a 34% surge, with Chinese HRC undercutting domestic prices by USD 30–70/t. Fixed-price construction contracts lock revenue, so sudden input spikes squeeze margins. Integrated players such as Hoa Phat enjoy cost stability, while smaller fabricators struggle to secure hedging lines and may cede share within the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market.

Stricter 2025 Environmental Permits Raise Cap-Ex

Circular 45/2024/TT-BTNMT caps particulate and SO₂ emissions from July 2025, forcing plasma shops to invest USD 0.5 million in extractors and EAF operators to add USD 5 million in baghouses^{[3]Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, “Circular 45/2024/TT-BTNMT and Decree 119/2025 on environmental regulations,” monre.gov.vn}. MRV audits add USD 50,000–100,000 annually. Non-compliant yards risk permit suspension, accelerating consolidation toward ISO 14001-certified firms inside the Vietnam structural steel fabrication market.

Segment Analysis

By Product Type: Heavy Sections Dominate, Custom Modules Accelerate

Heavy section beams and columns secured 40.51% of 2025 revenue, reflecting their critical role in high-rise towers, bridges, and airport terminals across the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market. Standard W-shapes and H-piles shipped at volumes that let integrated mills like Hoa Phat offer bundle discounts, but tight competition and lower engineering intensity limit margin upside. Players differentiate through delivery speed and adherence to AISC tolerances, yet commoditization invites price pressure whenever Chinese imports dip below domestic offers.

The Other Product Types segment, plate-worked girders, custom modules, and skids will grow the fastest at an 8.59% CAGR. Energy and petrochemical clients prefer factory-assembled modules that cut field labor by 30–40%, and offshore-wind towers need thick plate beyond local rolling capacities until Ninh Binh’s new Steckel mill comes online. Fabricators able to pair TEKLA 3D modeling with CNC drilling that holds ±0.5 mm positional accuracy win these engineered orders and gain pricing power. As a result, the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market size for custom modules could reach USD 0.85 billion by 2031, moving the revenue mix toward higher-value work.

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

By End-User Industry: Construction Leads, Infrastructure Transport Surges

Construction end-users commanded 46.73% of 2025 spending, split among commercial, residential, and industrial buildings that require everything from lightweight purlins to composite cores. Warehouse demand linked to FDI inflows kept order books full, yet saturation in mature industrial parks may slow momentum after 2027. Fabricators serving this base often rely on ISO 9001 lines and standard design libraries, keeping average project margins moderate. 

Infrastructure Transport is the fastest-growing end-user, projected at an 8.84% CAGR. North–South Expressway bridges need long-span girders, metro extensions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City call for seismic-rated track slabs, and Long Thanh International Airport tops procurement lists for wide-flange steel. Contract awards favor bidders that certify to TCVN 9386:2012 and execute EN 1090-1 documentation; thus, integrated mills with design teams and robotic welding have a clear edge. Given the pipeline, this segment could capture 20% of the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market size by 2031.

By Fabrication Process: Welding Dominates, Cutting Gains Precision Share

Welding processes held 34.07% of the value in 2025 because every beam-to-column joint and tower seam relies on TIG, MIG, or flux-cored passes. Robotic gantries from Voortman and Lincoln Electric improve throughput by 30–40% and hold repeatability within ±0.5 mm, but complex positional welds on offshore flanges still demand certified human hands. Rising welder wages justify more automation, creating a split where large yards invest while small ones remain labor-intensive.

Cutting-lasers, plasmas, and water-jets will outpace all other methods at an 8.23% CAGR. Fiber-laser tables achieve ±0.03 mm kerf precision, meeting tolerance calls for data-center racks and wind-tower flanges. Domestic OEM VN-J offers budget machines, but top-tier buyers still specify Trumpf or Voortman hardware. As more projects reward first-time fit-up, spending on laser systems will lift cutting’s share inside the Vietnam structure steel fabrication market.

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

Geography Analysis

Ho Chi Minh City controlled 34.4% of 2025 revenue thanks to its dense FDI clusters in Binh Duong and Dong Nai and ready access to Vung Tau plate mills and Cai Mep deep-water docks. Industrial land scarcity and congestion, however, will curb growth to about the national average as lease rates and wages climb. Large fabricators are already scouting satellite yards two hours away to avoid trucking delays that added 18 months to the city’s first metro line. 

Hanoi remains the political hub and a magnet for metro and airport upgrades. Yet fewer integrated mills nearby mean longer haul distances for plate, which trims margins or forces higher bid prices. Da Nang bridges the north-south gap with lower land costs and incentives for exporters serving Laos and Thailand, drawing mid-tier fabricators to set up satellite plants.

Rest of Vietnam - Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Tra Vinh, Nghe An, will post the fastest 8.1% CAGR as expressways and wind farms spread beyond the deltas. Xuan Thien’s USD 380 million green-steel complex in Ninh Binh illustrates the push to locate heavy plate near renewable power and coastal ports. Provincial enforcement of new emission rules will determine whether compliant players keep their premium or face undercutting by non-certified rivals.