According to the production statistics of major casting producing countries worldwide in 2004, the top ten casting producing countries can be divided into two categories. One type is developing countries, which have high production but low added value of castings, many small enterprises, a large workforce, and a significant proportion of black metals. The other type is developed countries such as Japan, the United States, and Europe, which mainly produce high value-added castings using high-tech.

Developed countries generally have advanced casting technology, good product quality, high production efficiency, low environmental pollution, and a series of raw and auxiliary materials. Europe has established a cross-border service system, achieving mechanization, automation, and intelligence in production. The production process strictly implements technical standards, and the scrap rate of castings is about 2-5%. Attention is paid to improving the level of casting process design with informatization, and software is widely used to simulate the mold filling and solidification process simulation and optimize the process design.

From the perspective of batch production and labor productivity, Europe, the United States, and Japan have significant advantages. Japan's labor productivity is 140 tons of castings per capita per year, while China's estimated output is about 20 tons, a difference of 7 times. The labor cost in China is less than $1 per hour, which is dozens of times higher than that of developed countries, so exporting castings has an advantage. However, in recent years, the sharp rise in material prices has wiped out the advantages of China's export castings in terms of material costs. In terms of product quality and grade, we are far behind developed countries. Although China's casting exports have increased in recent years, exports only account for 97% of China's total production and less than 8% of the global casting market circulation. The overall growth rate is slow, manifested by poor quality and low prices. For a long time, the export of castings has mainly focused on mid to low-end products, with various pipe fittings, radiators, kitchenware, and bathware accounting for 36%. Although some exported castings can meet international standards, there is still a distance to meet European and American customer standards.

In China, the casting industry is an important industry related to the national economy and people's livelihood. It is the foundation of pillar industries such as automobiles, petrochemicals, steel, electricity, shipbuilding, textiles, and equipment manufacturing, and is an important component of the manufacturing industry. In mechanical equipment, castings account for a high proportion of the total weight, with internal combustion engines accounting for 80%, tractors accounting for 50-80%, and hydraulic components and pump machinery accounting for 50-60%. Almost all key components in the car are cast; Major equipment such as metallurgy, mining, and power plants all rely on large castings and forgings, and the quality of castings directly affects the quality and performance of the entire machine.

The casting production enterprises in China are mainly distributed in the east, while the production in the west is relatively small. At present, there are approximately 24000 casting enterprises in China with over 1.2 million employees. From the perspective of industrial structure, there are not only casting factories or workshops that belong to the main engine production factory, but also professional casting factories, as well as a large number of township casting factories. In terms of scale and level, there are large foundries with advanced technology, high mechanization, and an annual output of tens of thousands of tons of castings, such as some advanced foundries in the heavy industry, automotive industry, and aviation industry; There are also small-scale foundries with outdated processes, rudimentary equipment, and manual operations, producing over a hundred tons of castings annually.