New Landscape of Asia-Pacific Foundry Capacity: Investment Strategies and Regional Development Trends for the Second Half of 2026

New Landscape of Asia-Pacific Foundry Capacity: Investment Strategies and Regional Development Trends for the Second Half of 2026

As the global manufacturing landscape continues to evolve, the Asia-Pacific foundry industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation and upgrading. As a core component of global manufacturing, the foundry industry is increasingly applied in fields such as new energy vehicles, semiconductor equipment, and high-end equipment, driving the reallocation of Asia-Pacific foundry capacity and deep adjustments in investment strategies. This article will comprehensively analyze the development trend of the Asia-Pacific foundry industry in the second half of 2026 from four dimensions: market status, regional characteristics, investment hotspots, and future trends, providing forward-looking references for investors.

I. Current Status and Regional Distribution Characteristics of Asia-Pacific Foundry Capacity

In the first half of 2026, the foundry capacity in the Asia-Pacific region maintained steady growth, with overall capacity increasing by 8.3% compared to the same period in 2025, among which aluminum alloy foundry capacity growth was most significant, reaching 10.2%. From a regional distribution perspective, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Southeast Asian countries constitute the five core regions of the Asia-Pacific foundry industry, each showing distinct development characteristics.

As the world's largest foundry producer, China accounted for 42% of the total foundry capacity in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2026, maintaining its leading position. In recent years, China's foundry industry has accelerated its transformation towards high-end and intelligent manufacturing, achieving major breakthroughs particularly in the field of new energy vehicle integrated die casting. Data shows that China's aluminum alloy die casting capacity increased by 15.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, far exceeding the industry average.

Japan and South Korea maintain technical advantages in precision casting and special casting, focusing on the production of high-value-added products such as aerospace components and precision castings for semiconductor equipment. In recent years, Japanese foundry enterprises have accelerated the transfer of production capacity to Southeast Asia, establishing an aluminum alloy casting production base with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons in Vietnam to cope with rising domestic labor costs and environmental pressures.

India's foundry industry has shown rapid growth in recent years, with capacity growth reaching 12.7% in the first half of 2026, becoming the fastest-growing foundry market in the Asia-Pacific region. India's "Make in India" initiative has provided policy support for the development of the foundry industry, attracting significant foreign investment. Particularly in the automotive parts casting sector, India has become a core supply base for many global automotive giants.

Southeast Asian countries, leveraging labor cost advantages and free trade agreement networks, are becoming popular destinations for global foundry industry transfer. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries have seen foundry capacity growth exceeding 10%, particularly in automotive parts and electronic equipment casting.

II. Analysis of Investment Hotspots in the Foundry Industry for the Second Half of 2026

With the deepening of green and digital transformation in global manufacturing, investment in the Asia-Pacific foundry industry in the second half of 2026 shows distinct structural characteristics, mainly concentrated in the following areas:

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• Green Foundry Technology Investment: Driven by increasingly stringent environmental regulations and carbon neutrality goals, green foundry technology has become an investment hotspot. Data shows that investment related to green foundry technology in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 28.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, mainly concentrated in clean production equipment, energy-saving technologies, and waste resource utilization.
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• Integrated Die Casting Technology: The explosive growth in demand for lightweighting in new energy vehicles has driven an investment boom in integrated die casting technology. Automotive giants such as BMW and Tesla are cooperating with Asia-Pacific foundry enterprises to build large-scale integrated die casting production lines, with an expected increase of 350,000 tons of integrated die casting capacity in the Asia-Pacific region in the second half of 2026.
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• Digital Foundry Factories: The deep integration of industrial internet, artificial intelligence technology, and traditional foundry has created significant demand for digital foundry factory construction. Investment related to digital casting in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 32.1% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, mainly concentrated in intelligent control systems, digital twin technology applications, and industrial robotics.
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• Special Casting Material R&D: The continuous growth in demand for special casting materials from high-end equipment manufacturing has driven increased investment in R&D of high-strength aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, high-temperature alloys, and other special casting materials. Investment in special casting material R&D in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 24.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2026.
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III. New Regional Development Landscape and Industrial Chain Restructuring

In the second half of 2026, the regional development of the Asia-Pacific foundry industry presents a new landscape, with a clear trend of industrial chain restructuring:

China: Parallel Development of High-End and Intelligent Manufacturing

China's foundry industry is accelerating its transformation from scale expansion to quality improvement, while maintaining advantages in traditional foundry capacity, vigorously developing high-end precision casting and intelligent casting. The Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions have formed foundry industrial clusters with distinct characteristics, focusing on automotive parts, electronic equipment, and high-end equipment casting respectively. Chinese foundry enterprises are actively expanding into overseas markets, establishing production bases in countries along the "Belt and Road" to build a global production network.

Japan and South Korea: Technology Leadership and Industrial Chain Synergy

Japanese and South Korean foundry enterprises, leveraging technical advantages in precision casting and materials science, focus on producing high-value-added products. Foundry enterprises in both countries are strengthening collaboration with downstream industries such as semiconductors and automobiles, forming close industrial chain partnerships. Meanwhile, Japanese and South Korean foundry enterprises are accelerating the establishment of production bases in Southeast Asia, creating an industrial division model of "Japan/South Korea design + Southeast Asia production."

India and Southeast Asia: Cost Advantages and Policy Dividends

Leveraging policy support and a large domestic market, India has become an important destination for global foundry industry transfer. India's foundry industry is upgrading from low-end to high-end, with continuously strengthening competitiveness in automotive parts and engineering machinery casting. Southeast Asian countries, with labor cost advantages and regional trade agreements, have attracted significant foundry industry investment, forming distinctive foundry industrial clusters in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries.

IV. Investment Strategies and Risk Prevention

Based on an in-depth analysis of the development of the Asia-Pacific foundry industry in the second half of 2026, we propose the following investment strategy recommendations:

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• Focus on enterprises leading in green foundry technology: As environmental regulations become stricter and carbon neutrality goals advance, green foundry technology will become a core competitive advantage for enterprises. Investors are advised to focus on enterprises with technical advantages in clean production, energy conservation and emission reduction, and waste resource utilization.
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• Seize opportunities in the new energy vehicle casting industry chain: Under the trend of lightweighting in new energy vehicles, segments such as integrated die casting and special aluminum alloys will experience rapid growth. Investors are advised to focus on foundry enterprises closely related to the new energy vehicle industry chain and their upstream material suppliers.
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• Layout digital foundry transformation pioneers: The deep integration of industrial internet, artificial intelligence, and other technologies with traditional foundry will create numerous investment opportunities. Investors are advised to focus on enterprises with forward-looking layouts in digital factory construction, intelligent manufacturing, and industrial internet platform development.
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• Pay attention to investment opportunities brought by regional industrial chain restructuring: The regional restructuring and industrial chain adjustment of the Asia-Pacific foundry industry will bring new investment opportunities. Investors are advised to focus on enterprises in regions benefiting from industrial transfer and at key nodes of the industrial chain.
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At the same time, investors also need to pay attention to the following risk factors:

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• Raw material price fluctuation risks: Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials such as aluminum and steel will directly affect the profitability of foundry enterprises. Investors need to focus on enterprises' raw material cost control capabilities and supply chain management capabilities.
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• Technology iteration risks: Foundry technology is updated and replaced quickly. Investors need to focus on enterprises' R&D investment and innovation capabilities to avoid investing in technologically backward enterprises.
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• Environmental policy risks: As environmental regulations become stricter, foundry enterprises face greater environmental pressure and cost burdens. Investors need to focus on enterprises' environmental compliance capabilities and green transformation progress.
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• International trade friction risks: The rise of global protectionism may affect the international trade of foundry products. Investors need to focus on enterprises' international market layout and risk response capabilities.
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V. Future Outlook and Investment Opportunities

Looking ahead, the Asia-Pacific foundry industry will show the following development trends:

Accelerated Green Transformation: With the advancement of carbon neutrality goals, green foundry will become the mainstream of industry development. Foundry enterprises will increase investment in clean production, energy conservation and emission reduction, and waste resource utilization, promoting the transformation of the entire industry towards a green and low-carbon direction.

Deep Digital Integration: The deep integration of industrial internet, artificial intelligence, big data, and other technologies with traditional foundry will create new growth points. Digital foundry factories will become the development direction of the industry, and intelligent manufacturing and industrial internet platform construction will bring huge investment opportunities.

Accelerated High-End Development: As downstream industries increase their requirements for product quality and performance, the foundry industry will accelerate its high-end development. High-value-added fields such as precision casting and special casting will become investment hotspots.

Regional Synergistic Development: The Asia-Pacific foundry industry will form a closer regional synergistic development pattern, with countries forming differentiated development paths based on their own advantages, building a more complete regional industrial chain and supply chain system.

Overall, the Asia-Pacific foundry industry in the second half of 2026 presents both opportunities and challenges. Investors should grasp investment hotspots such as green foundry, digital transformation, and the new energy vehicle industry chain, pay attention to investment opportunities brought by the new regional development landscape and industrial chain restructuring, while preventing various risk factors to maximize investment returns.