Construction Industry
With the development of China''s construction industry and the advancement of urbanization, the amount of steel consumed in the construction industry each year is enormous. According to relevant authorities, the manufacturing volume of construction steel structures reached approximately 16 million tons in 2006, including steel structures for industrial plants, high-rise buildings, large-span stadiums, municipal construction, and residential buildings, equivalent to the consumption of 250,000–350,000 tons of welding materials. It is predicted that the manufacturing volume of various construction steel structures will reach 26 million tons in 2010, requiring approximately 400,000–500,000 tons of welding materials. By 2015, the steel consumption for various construction steel structures is expected to exceed 40 million tons. In the construction of reinforced concrete structures, more than 100 million tons of steel bars and wire materials are consumed annually. Except for a small amount of thick-diameter steel bars connected by cold extrusion sleeves, the rest are mainly welded using steel bar electroslag pressure welding and electrode arc welding. This requires more than 100,000–130,000 tons of molten welding fluxes such as HJ431 and over 500,000 tons of electrodes such as J422 annually. Therefore, construction steel and corresponding welding materials will be a growth hotspot in the future.

Shipbuilding Industry
After ten years of high-efficiency technology promotion during the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" and "Ninth Five-Year Plan" periods, China''s shipbuilding industry has widely adopted semi-automatic flux-cored wire, various simple and convenient welding equipment and processes such as corner welding machines and twin-wire single-pool CO₂ welding processes. Three-wire and four-wire submerged arc welding technologies have been applied in plate joint welding to achieve high-speed welding. Vertical welding technology has been used in hull closure seam welding, significantly improving welding efficiency and enhancing the overall strength of the industry. Data from 2007 shows that China''s order volume now ranks second globally, but there is still a gap compared to traditional shipbuilding powers such as South Korea and Japan. South Korea''s shipbuilding industry has gained competitiveness by focusing on high-value-added vessels such as ultra-large oil tankers to improve profitability. For example, Samsung Heavy Industries holds nearly 70% of the global market share in drillships (equipment for oil and gas drilling in deep or rough seas), each costing up to 1 trillion won. The competitiveness of South Korean shipbuilding enterprises lies in the integration of IT technology into shipbuilding processes. Although the shipbuilding industry is often called a "smokestack industry," major South Korean shipyards have actively introduced cutting-edge technologies such as internet-based 3D design systems and automatic operation control products, becoming industry leaders. In contrast, China has a higher proportion in relatively low-cost bulk carriers (transporting general cargo such as grain and minerals). With the internationalization of China''s shipbuilding industry, on one hand, higher requirements have been put forward for the efficiency, processability, and fume emission of existing welding materials; on the other hand, with the increase in the construction of chemical tankers and aluminum alloy ships, there will be a certain demand for various stainless steel, duplex steel, and non-ferrous metal welding materials in the future. In 2006, China''s shipbuilding completion reached 14.52 million deadweight tons, consuming approximately 5.6 million tons of steel and corresponding welding materials of 140,000–160,000 tons, including 80,000–90,000 tons of flux-cored wire. It is predicted that steel consumption in China''s shipbuilding industry will reach 10.35 million tons by 2010, with a corresponding demand for 230,000–280,000 tons of welding materials.

Transportation Industry
Statistics recently released by the German Association of the Automotive Industry show that China''s automobile production exceeded that of Germany and the United States in 2008, ranking first in the world. The association''s data shows that China accounted for 17.2% of global automobile production in 2008, Germany 14.7%, and the United States only 14.6%. In 2008, China''s automobile production and sales reached 9.3451 million and 9.3805 million vehicles, respectively, with year-on-year growth of 5.21% and 675.56%. Among them, passenger vehicle production and sales reached 26.074 million and 26.249 million vehicles, with year-on-year growth of 4.24% and 5.24%. It is predicted that China''s automobile production will reach 9–11 million vehicles by 2010, consuming 15–18 million tons of steel. While road transportation has developed, significant changes have also occurred in railway infrastructure. By 2008, China had completed three major railway speed increases. With the improvement of railway operation speeds, a large number of new locomotives have been put into use. On March 16, 2009, the Beijing Railway Bureau signed an agreement with CRRC Corporation Limited to purchase 100 new-generation high-speed EMU trains, with a total amount of 39.2 billion RMB. The new-generation EMU adopts a 16-car long formation, consisting of four traction power units with an "8 motorized and 8 trailing" structure, with a continuous operating speed of 350 km/h and a test speed exceeding 400 km/h. The higher operating speed of the new-generation EMU imposes higher requirements on materials. Additionally, the new EMU has strict requirements for railway tracks, both of which have greatly promoted the R&D and application of steel and welding materials.