Molds, various molds and tools used in industrial production to obtain the required products by methods such as injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, die-casting or forging molding, smelting, and stamping. In short, a mold is a tool used to make molded objects. This tool is composed of various parts, and different molds are composed of different parts. It mainly realizes the processing of the shape of the article by changing the physical state of the formed material. Known as the "Mother of Industry".
Since the beginning of the 21st century, my country's mold industry has gradually completed business transformation and industrial upgrading in response to changes in the needs of domestic and foreign mold downstream industries. With the continuous growth of production and sales, my country has become a veritable world mold manufacturing country and mold trading country.
The data shows that from 2015 to 2019, the total import and export trade of China's mold industry reached 75.66, 67.93, 75.42, 82.25, and 81.85 (unit: billion US dollars), showing a volatile trend. Among them, during the period 2015-2019, the total import trade of China's mold industry was 24.85, 20.03, 20.51, 21.4, 19.39 (unit: billion US dollars). In general, the overall import and export of my country's mold industry continues to maintain a trade surplus where exports are greater than imports. The main trade products can be roughly divided into three categories: plastic and rubber molds, stamping molds and other molds.
In terms of products, my country's imported mold products are mainly plastic rubber molds and stamping dies. According to customs statistics, the total imports of plastic rubber molds and stamping dies account for more than 40% of my country's total mold imports. Data show that in 2019, my country's plastic and rubber mold imports accounted for 44.96% of total imports; stamping mold imports accounted for 40.92% of total imports; other types of mold imports accounted for 14.12% of total imports.
my country's export mold products are mainly plastic and rubber molds. According to customs statistics, in recent years, my country's plastic and rubber mold exports have maintained above 60%. In 2019, my country's plastic and rubber mold exports accounted for 62.47% of total exports; stamping mold exports accounted for 19.3% of total exports; other types of mold exports accounted for 18.23% of total exports.
After years of development, my country has begun to take an irreplaceable position in the world of mold manufacturing. However, like many traditional manufacturing industries, my country's mold industry is large but not strong, competitive, and insufficient technological innovation. The specific performance is the following four points:
First, fierce competition in the market and serious product homogeneity. There are many small and medium-sized mold companies in my country. Due to their strength, the product positioning and production capacity of these companies are converging. This has also led to serious product homogeneity and lack of innovation and competitiveness in the market. A large number of homogeneous products have poured into the market. In order to gain a larger market share, without other core competitiveness, companies can only obtain customers by reducing prices, which will undoubtedly make the mold sales market more chaotic.
Second, the high-end development is insufficient, and the production capacity of medium and low-end molds is excessive. High-end mold manufacturing undoubtedly requires longer technology accumulation and R&D investment. This threshold has shut out many mold manufacturing companies. In addition, due to development reasons, my country's mold products are currently concentrated in the low-end.
Third, financing difficulties and limited enterprise development. Mold is a typical high-input industry, and it is difficult to produce high-level molds without high-precision and high-quality processing equipment. Coupled with market risks, it is difficult for mold companies to obtain financing, and it is particularly difficult to upgrade production.
Fourth, operating costs are relatively high and profit margins are relatively narrow. As mentioned above, molds are a typical high-input industry. In addition, many companies currently have limited technical levels, and mold production costs are still relatively high (it can also be regarded as low production efficiency). In addition, the heavy tax burden has further increased the operating costs of enterprises and compressed profit margins.
Based on the above-mentioned unfavorable factors, mold companies will still focus on transformation and upgrading in the future development, enhance their competitiveness in the high-end market, and work hard on talents, management, and innovation. At the same time, we must continue to maintain our competitiveness and influence in overseas markets.
