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The Cable Industry in 2026: Slowing Demand and a New Logic of Competition

05 June 2026

How customer behavior is changing — and why participation in industry exhibitions is becoming a key market engagement tool.

The year 2025 became a period of systemic adjustment for the cable industry. Against the backdrop of high interest rates, rising raw material costs, and postponed investment projects, the market has shown restrained dynamics, while some segments have experienced declining demand.

These processes are affecting key industries for cable manufacturers: construction, energy, mechanical engineering, and telecommunications. Development projects are slowing down, infrastructure programs are being postponed, and telecom operators are optimizing capital expenditures. As a result, deferred demand is emerging, which market participants believe may not materialize until 2027.

Customer Behavior Is Changing: From Purchasing to Supplier Selection

Against this backdrop, customer behavior is also transforming. Companies are increasingly reluctant to make immediate purchasing decisions — sales cycles are becoming longer, the role of technical expertise is growing, and requirements for traceability are increasing.

Procurement is increasingly based on a preliminary selection model: first, a pool of potential suppliers is formed, then solutions are compared, and only after that do contract negotiations begin.

This trend was clearly visible at Cabex 2026 — the International Exhibition for Cable and Wire Products, Equipment, and Materials. Nearly one-third of visitors were not ready to sign contracts immediately; their main objective was to gather information about suppliers. At the same time, the share of visitors actively searching for products and services remained high at 38%. Considering that 94% of attendees are involved in or influence purchasing decisions, this highlights the continued importance of Cabex as a sales and business development tool.

Alexander Glushenkov, Deputy General Director for Development at OKB KP, commented on the quality and scale of this year’s audience:

“The audience was mainly industry professionals: procurement departments, engineers, leading specialists, and design institutes. There were many visitors, all with different objectives, and each required attention.”

Cabex as a Tool for Working with Deferred Demand

In the new market environment, the role of industry exhibitions is also changing. While participation was previously viewed as a channel for quick sales, today Cabex is becoming an entry point for building relationships with potential customers and forming a supplier pool.

Over the course of the three-day exhibition, participating companies gain access to a targeted audience of industrial enterprises, design organizations, construction companies, and distributors. The key value lies not in immediate contract signing, but in establishing initial agreements through face-to-face communication. It is through these interactions that companies enter procurement pipelines that materialize after the exhibition.

Maxim Strelkin, Head of Sales at MKZ Industrial Group, noted the strong visitor traffic and the value of personal communication:

“Even though we had twice as many employees working at the booth, meetings started at nine in the morning and continued until three in the afternoon without interruption. Both new and existing partners came one after another. The exhibition helps build personal relationships — something impossible to achieve through phone communication alone.”

Competition Is Intensifying — and the Cost of Mistakes Is Rising

A slowdown in market growth naturally increases competition. Under these conditions, not only product quality but also maximum market visibility becomes critical — and industry business platforms are the most effective way to achieve it, as they allow potential customers to conveniently form lists of prospective suppliers.

Companies are increasingly viewing participation in Cabex both as a branding tool and as a practical market engagement channel — a platform for negotiations, product demonstrations, and strengthening industry positioning.

Vera Ivankevich, Commercial Director at Habsans, highlighted the exhibition’s role in maintaining the company’s reputational capital:

“Cabex is an image-building exhibition. Simply participating demonstrates that the company is active in the market. This year we presented a coiling unit for the first time — part of a larger production line. The equipment is in demand, and we already have several interested clients in progress. Despite the difficult market situation, the exhibition generates a strong response.”

As the market slows, competition for customer access will only intensify. The advantage will go to companies that appear in the field of vision of potential clients during the supplier pool formation stage — not only at the final selection phase.

Cabex is becoming one of the key contact points where future deals and business relationships are formed.

Participation in Cabex 2027 is an opportunity to maintain a company’s presence within procurement pipelines and strengthen its market position. Participation terms can already be discussed today.

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05 June 2026