Copper tube accounts for 3Mt, or 10%, of the global copper market of over 33Mt. In Europe and the Americas, consumption is fairly evenly divided between plumbing and industrial tube applications. However, in Asia the market is dominated by industrial tubes, primarily used in the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) end use industries. While plumbing tubes for water or gas are increasingly being produced using recycled (scrap) copper, industrial tubes require refined copper to meet the strength, precision and cleanliness standards required for durable and reliable long-life HVAC and Refrigeration applications.

Asia represents 75% of world copper tube demand and consumption has been performing strongly and consistently, expanding at a compound annual rate of 2.7% over the past decade. This is despite ongoing economisation and thrifting trends that have seen the progressive decline in average tube diameters and wall thicknesses, especially during times of high and volatile copper prices. China still holds a dominant share of Asian demand, and consumption performed well in 2024, with air-conditioner assembly rising by 6.9% last year, in one of the better performing end uses of Chinese copper demand.