Refractories Market (2026 - 2033)

Refractories Market Summary

The global refractories market size was valued at USD 47.9 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow from USD 50.9 billion in 2026 to USD 96.0 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2026 to 2033. Asia Pacific dominated the market, accounting for a revenue share of 75.2% in 2025. Crude steel manufacturing through basic oxygen furnaces (BOF), electric arc furnaces (EAF), and induction furnaces (IF) requires high volumes of shaped and unshaped refractories to withstand extreme temperatures and chemical wear.

Source: Grand View Research, IR Documents, Primary Interviews, Paid Databases

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As steel production and high-temperature industrial activity expand in countries such as India, China, and Vietnam, demand for refractories is expected to increase. The refractories industry is increasingly focusing on circularity, recycled raw materials, and lower-carbon refractory formulations as manufacturers seek to reduce the environmental impact associated with raw-material extraction, processing, manufacturing, and disposal. Spent refractories from steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, and other high-temperature industries can be processed and returned to refractory production, reducing dependence on virgin minerals and the quantity of material sent to landfills. RHI Magnesita identifies recycling as a major lever for reducing the carbon footprint of refractory products and reported that its recycling rate reached 12.6% in 2023.

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Technological development in refractories is increasingly shifting from conventional material replacement toward condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, digital wear measurement, and application-specific refractory design. Digital technologies allow producers to monitor lining thickness and erosion, evaluate operating conditions, and optimize replacement schedules. For example, Vesuvius uses ANTERIS laser-scanning technology to measure erosion rates and residual refractory thickness, thereby supporting more precise maintenance and lining design decisions. The adoption of automation, sensors, data analytics, and predictive models is also improving refractory management in steelmaking and other high-temperature operations. Vesuvius' digital refractory solutions integrate three-dimensional scanning with analytics to convert refractory-wear measurements into predictive information.

Market Dynamics

Analyst Perspective

The global refractories market is driven by production, maintenance, and capacity expansion across steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, glass, and other high-temperature industries. Recurring furnace relining, replacement, and modernization requirements support steady consumption, while demand for longer service life, improved wear resistance, reduced downtime, and greater process efficiency is encouraging the adoption of advanced refractory solutions. Sustainability initiatives, refractory recycling, and digital monitoring technologies are further influencing product development and industry practices.

End-use Insights

The iron & steel segment dominated the refractories industry, accounting for a revenue share of 67.0% in 2025, supported by extensive refractory consumption across ironmaking, steelmaking, secondary metallurgy, and casting operations. Refractories are required in blast furnaces, BOFs, EAFs, ladles, tundishes, converters, runners, and reheating furnaces to withstand high temperatures, molten metal, slag, thermal cycling, and chemical wear. The continued scale of steel production and recurring requirements for relining, maintenance, and replacement underpin the segment's revenue contribution.

The glass & ceramics segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 10.0% from 2026 to 2033. Growth is driven by increasing refractory requirements in glass-melting furnaces, regenerators, forehearths, and ceramic kilns, where materials are exposed to high temperatures, thermal cycling, and chemical attack. The transition toward electric and hybrid glass furnaces, along with the demand for improved furnace efficiency and service life, is expected to drive adoption of specialized refractory products.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific dominated the refractories market with a revenue share of 75.2% in 2025. Asia Pacific remains the largest regional consumer of refractories because of its extensive concentration of steel, non-ferrous metals, cement, glass, and other thermal-processing industries. The region's demand is increasingly influenced by the scale and diversification of high-temperature manufacturing, rather than only by new construction activity. China alone produced 960.8 million tons of crude steel in 2025, while India produced 164.9 million tons and Japan 80.7 million tons. Vietnam and Indonesia also recorded increases of 12.2% and 1.9%, respectively, during the year.

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The China refractories market dominates Asia Pacific. China is the largest individual refractory consumer, supported by its extensive steelmaking, cement, non-ferrous metals, glass, and chemical processing base. Although crude steel output declined to 960.8 million tons in 2025 from 1,005.1 million tons in 2024, the country continued to operate an exceptionally large installed base of high-temperature industrial equipment. Meanwhile, production of refined copper, electrolytic aluminum, and other non-ferrous metals increased, creating additional demand for refractories used in smelting, refining, furnace linings, and related thermal processes.

North America Refractories Market Trends

The demand in North America is supported by the modernization of existing metallurgical assets, specialty steel production, and investment in domestic manufacturing capacity. Rather than being driven solely by new steel capacity, demand is increasingly associated with furnace upgrades, maintenance of aging assets, production of higher-value steel grades, and expansion of downstream processing. The U.S. produced 82.0 million tons of crude steel in 2025, up 3.1% from 2024, while Canada produced 11.5 million tons.

U.S. Refractories Market Trends

The U.S. refractories industry is also benefiting from investment in specialty metals, advanced manufacturing, domestic steel supply chains, and industrial processing infrastructure. These applications require refractory materials capable of operating under highly specific thermal, chemical, and mechanical conditions, increasing demand for engineered products rather than commodity-grade materials. The growing importance of domestic production of strategic materials also creates requirements for refractory-lined furnaces, reactors, kilns, and thermal-treatment equipment.

Europe Refractories Market Trends

Europe's demand is increasingly shaped by industrial modernization, furnace replacement, specialty steel production, and the conversion of conventional processes toward lower-carbon production routes. The transition is creating new technical requirements because DRI, hydrogen, EAF, and other emerging production configurations can expose refractory linings to different temperature profiles, atmospheres, slag chemistries, and operating cycles. This creates opportunities for higher-performance refractory compositions and engineered lining systems.

Latin America Refractories Market Trends

Latin America's demand is closely linked to its steel, iron ore processing, non-ferrous metallurgy, cement, and foundry industries, with Brazil and Mexico representing major regional industrial bases. Brazil produced 33.3 million tons of crude steel in 2025, while Mexico produced 13.5 million tons. The region's large installed base of steelmaking and mineral-processing equipment creates recurring demand for furnace, ladle, kiln, and casting refractories even when overall capacity additions remain selective.

Middle East & Africa Refractories Market Trends

The Middle East & Africa region is developing as a growing center for integrated steelmaking, direct reduction, non-ferrous processing, and cement production, particularly in countries with access to natural gas, iron ore, and other mineral resources. Refractory consumption is increasingly connected to the development and modernization of industrial processing facilities rather than solely to construction activity. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, the UAE, and South Africa provide important bases for steel, metals, cement, and mineral-processing operations.

Key Refractories Company Insights

Some of the key players operating in the market include Calderys and Vesuvius.

• Calderys was established in 1906 and is headquartered in France. The company provides shaped and monolithic refractory products, along with engineering, installation, maintenance, and technical services, for steel, foundry, cement, aluminum, glass, chemicals, petrochemicals, and other high-temperature industries. Calderys develops application-specific refractory solutions for furnaces, kilns, ladles, and other thermal-processing equipment and also provides services focused on refractory performance and equipment operating life.

• Vesuvius plc was established in 1916 and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company provides advanced refractory and molten-metal flow-control solutions for steel, foundry, non-ferrous metals, cement, and other industrial applications. Its product portfolio includes refractory materials, flow-control systems, and digital technologies for refractory wear measurement and process monitoring. Vesuvius also provides technical and engineering services to support refractory selection, installation, and process performance.

• Krosaki Harima Corporation was established in 1919 and is headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan. The company manufactures shaped and unshaped refractory products for steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, glass, and other high-temperature industries. Its activities include refractory manufacturing, furnace engineering, installation, maintenance, and development of refractory materials designed for specific operating conditions. The company also provides refractory solutions for various stages of ironmaking, steelmaking, casting, and other thermal-processing operations.

Key Refractories Companies

The following key companies have been profiled for this study of the refractories market.

• Alsey Refractories Co.

• Calderys (HarbisonWalker International)

• Chosun Refractories Co., Ltd.

• CoorsTek Inc.

• Krosaki Harima Corporation

• Morgan Advanced Materials

• RHI Magnesita

• Saint-Gobain SEFPRO

• Shinagawa Refractories Co., Ltd.

• Vesuvius plc

Recent Developments

• In August 2026, RHI Magnesita and Khemka Refractories completed their previously announced joint venture and launched MINPRO, focused on refractory recycling and circular mineral solutions in India. The development expands RHI Magnesita's recycling activities in India's growing industrial sectors and supports greater recovery and reuse of refractory materials. The initiative reflects the industry's increasing focus on circularity and reducing dependence on virgin raw materials.

• In April 2026, Calderys officially inaugurated its new CAPES facility in Odisha, India, which the company describes as the world's largest single-site greenfield facility for refractories and steel-casting fluxes. The first acidic and basic monolithics production lines had already entered commercial operation, while additional lines for acidic and basic bricks, steel-casting fluxes, and tap-hole clays were under development. The facility is intended to strengthen Calderys' manufacturing capabilities in India and support refractory demand from steel and other high-temperature industries across the region.

• In July 2026, Vesuvius reported its first-half 2026 results, highlighting developments in its Steel Division and Advanced Refractories business. The company reported that Advanced Refractories performance was affected by operational challenges in North America and India and pricing conditions in EMEA, while its broader steel business benefited from improving steel production outside China, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. Vesuvius also reported continued progress in new-product development, with its new-product sales ratio reaching 21% in H1 2026.

Global Refractories Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue & volume growth at the global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2021 to 2033. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global refractories market report based on end-use, and region:

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• End-use Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million/Billion, 2021-2033)

  • Iron & Steel

  • Cement & Lime

  • Glass & Ceramics

  • Non-Ferrous Metals

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million/Billion, 2021-2033)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • UK

    • Russia

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa

    • South Africa

Research Methodology

The refractories market figures in this report are based on a proven research process that combines executive interviews with secondary research from proprietary databases, company filings, and recognized regulatory and institutional sources. Market size is built through value-chain sizing-reconciling supply-side and demand-side estimates-and triangulated with bottom-up and top-down approaches. Every estimate passes multiple levels of expert validation before publication, with each refractories segment quantified using the revenue-capture definitions in the table below.

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