Cannulated Screw Market Size, Share, & Trends Analysis | Global | 2025-2031 | Includes: Stainless Steel Screws, and 1 more

The global cannulated screw market was valued at $599 million in 2024. The market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1%, reaching $693 million by 2031.

This report covers the full suite of cannulated screw products by material and size class. Scope includes stainless steel and titanium screws, with unit analysis across small, medium, and large screw categories. The study quantifies unit sales, average selling prices (ASPs), market values, growth rates, and company shares, and examines market drivers and limiters, procedure dynamics, recent mergers and acquisitions, and technology trends. Historical data are provided to 2021, with forecasts through 2031.

Market Overview

Cannulated screws are a core element of orthopedic trauma fixation. Their hollow design allows placement over a guidewire, which improves control, alignment, and accuracy across a wide range of indications. Surgeons rely on cannulated screws to stabilize fractures, manage osteotomies, and support fusions in both upper and lower extremities. Because the procedures that use these implants are essential and often urgent, demand remains consistent across economic cycles.

The market continues to benefit from steady procedural volume in trauma care and from broader use in foot and ankle surgery, hand and wrist surgery, and periarticular fixation. At the same time, pricing pressure is present in many tenders and group purchasing agreements. These forces pull ASPs down for commoditized items, but value can be sustained where design features improve comfort, reduce soft tissue irritation, or enable compression that supports healing.

Material choice shapes purchasing and clinical use. Titanium has gained share due to favorable biocompatibility and lighter weight. The price gap between titanium and stainless steel is narrow in many regions, which encourages clinicians to select titanium for small and medium fragment cases. Stainless steel maintains a strong role where higher stiffness is desirable, especially in large fragment constructs and high-load indications.

Product development focuses on two areas. The first is material science, with suppliers exploring new titanium alloys that target strength, durability, and thread integrity, especially in hip and periarticular applications. The second is head design, where headless cannulated screws continue to gain use because they sit flush with bone and reduce soft tissue irritation. The trend toward headless designs supports higher ASPs within that subsegment and helps offset pricing pressure in traditional headed lines.

Regional performance varies. Mature markets with centralized procurement favor high-volume standard sizes and reward supply reliability and service response. Emerging markets expand units as access to trauma care improves, though pricing in public tenders may be tight. Overall, the balance of essential procedure demand, rising use of titanium, and growth in headless designs supports low single-digit value growth through the forecast period.

Market Drivers

Growth of Titanium

Titanium cannulated screws continue to expand share because the price difference versus stainless steel is often modest, while the clinical advantages are clear. Titanium's biocompatibility and lower weight can improve patient comfort and reduce the chance of adverse reactions. These characteristics are most valued in small and medium screws used in the hand, wrist, and foot, where soft tissue tolerance and long-term compatibility matter.

In parallel, suppliers are investing in new titanium alloys aimed at better fatigue performance and thread durability. These advances are particularly relevant for challenging indications such as femoral neck fixation or multi-fragment periarticular fractures. As more alloy options reach the market, clinicians will have greater ability to tailor material to load, bone quality, and healing goals. This sustained focus on titanium supports a stable ASP mix and incremental value growth in the category.

Growth of Headless Screws

Headless cannulated screws are a fast-growing subsegment. By eliminating a prominent screw head, these designs reduce soft tissue irritation and the risk of symptomatic hardware, which lowers the need for secondary removal. Many headless systems use dual-threaded or variable pitch constructs to generate compression from both ends. This feature helps draw fragments together and maintain interfragmentary stability during early motion and weight bearing where appropriate.

Headless screws carry higher ASPs than headed screws and demonstrate higher unit growth rates in several anatomical areas, including scaphoid, metatarsal, and phalangeal fractures, as well as selected ankle and subtalar fusions. As surgeons aim to minimize patient discomfort and reoperation rates, demand for headless options is expected to continue rising across the forecast period.

Role in Essential Surgery

Cannulated screws are used in non-elective procedures that cannot be deferred without risk. Emergency departments and trauma services rely on them for rapid fixation of hip, ankle, wrist, and foot injuries. Because these procedures are essential, unit demand is more stable than in categories tied to elective care. This stability also means pricing tends to be more resilient than in non-urgent device markets, although tender competition still influences contract outcomes.

Market Limiters

ASP Decreases

Despite healthy procedural demand, cannulated screw ASPs face steady pressure from group purchasing organizations, government tenders, and value-based procurement programs. These mechanisms concentrate purchasing power and focus competition on price. Regions such as North America, Western Europe, and China have seen persistent price compression, with China experiencing strong declines following policy changes introduced at the end of 2021. Over the forecast period, these procurement models will continue to limit pricing upside and hold back value growth in conventional lines.

Commoditization of Headed Screws

As headless designs capture the innovation spotlight, many headed cannulated screws have become commoditized. Product differentiation is limited, and few new features are expected for standard headed lines. When products are viewed as interchangeable, tenders emphasize unit price and logistics. As a result, headed screw ASPs are not expected to rise meaningfully, and market growth in that segment will be driven mainly by units rather than value.

Lower ASPs to Podiatrists

ASPs in foot and ankle surgery are generally lower than in trauma orthopedics. This reflects case mix, purchasing patterns, and competitive dynamics specific to podiatry. Because cannulated screws have significant use in foot and ankle fixation, the lower realized prices in that channel can weigh on overall market value. Vendors often respond through bundles and standard sets that increase efficiency, but the structural ASP gap is likely to persist.

Competitive Analysis

DePuy Synthes

DePuy Synthes held the leading share of the cannulated screw market in 2024. The company markets a broad portfolio under a generic Cannulated Screws line with multiple sizes across small, medium, and large classes. Leadership reflects global scale, deep relationships in trauma, and consistent supply across hospitals and ambulatory sites. Given its reach and alignment with surgeon preferences, DePuy Synthes is expected to maintain the top position through the forecast period.

Stryker

Stryker ranked second globally. Its cannulated screw brands include Asnis III, AutoFix, Asnis Micro, Twin Fix, MiNi, and Fixos. The range covers diverse anatomical needs and favors streamlined instrumentation and familiar handling. Stryker's strategy pairs screw portfolios with broader trauma platforms, which supports account penetration. The company is expected to hold share while leveraging growth from adjacent, faster-growing trauma segments.

Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet held the third position with the MAX VPC(TM) Screw System and N-Force Fixation System(R). The company's presence is steady in key regions, and share may expand in areas where competitors emphasize other higher-growth categories. Zimmer Biomet's balanced pricing and reliable distribution support ongoing participation in both hospital tenders and private markets.

Other multinational and regional suppliers compete in selected geographies and indications. These firms often focus on service responsiveness, regional logistics, and targeted product sets for foot and ankle or hand surgery. While they may not shift global shares dramatically, they contribute to price competition in local tenders and keep ASP pressure present in commoditized classes.

Market Coverage and Data Scope

• Time Frame: Base year 2024, forecasts 2025-2031, historical data 2021-2023.
• Care Settings: Hospitals, orthopedic trauma centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and specialized foot and ankle clinics.
• Methodology: Revenue modeled as units X ASP, validated against procedure volumes, purchasing records, and import/export flows.

Unit analysis is broken out by small, medium, and large screw classes and mapped to material choices by region.

Market Segmentation Summary

• Cannulated Screw Market - Further Segmented Into:
• Material type: Stainless Steel and Titanium
• Unit analysis: Small, Medium, and Large screws.
• Quantitative Coverage: Market size, market shares, market forecasts, growth rates, units sold, and average selling prices.
• Qualitative Coverage: Market growth trends, market limiters, competitive analysis and SWOT for top competitors, mergers and acquisitions, company profiles, product portfolios, disruptive technologies, and disease overviews.
• Data Sources: Primary interviews with industry leaders, government physician and regulatory data, hospital and private purchasing inputs, import and export records, and the iData Research internal database.

Technology and Practice Trends

• Headless compression: Dual-thread or variable pitch constructs deliver compression from both ends, supporting fragment coaptation with minimal hardware prominence.
• Thread and tip geometry: Sharper thread profiles and controlled tip designs improve purchase in osteoporotic bone and reduce risk of crack propagation during insertion.
• Material refinement: New titanium alloys target higher fatigue strength and thread integrity while maintaining biocompatibility.
• Low-profile fixation: Systems aim to minimize soft tissue irritation to reduce symptomatic hardware and reoperation.
• Standardized trays and single-use options: Streamlined sets reduce set-up time and support efficiency in high-throughput trauma centers.
• Imaging guidance: Consistent use of fluoroscopic targeting and guidewires improves placement accuracy and reduces operating time.

Methodology Appendix and Acronym Glossary included.

Why This Report

Where are the largest and fastest-growing opportunities within cannulated screws by material and size class through 2031.

How the shift to titanium and the rise of headless designs will influence ASPs, product mix, and purchasing decisions.

Which competitors are best positioned to defend or gain share in tenders and how portfolios compare on breadth, handling, and service.

How GPOs, government tendering, and value-based procurement programs affect pricing power across regions.

What design choices most reduce symptomatic hardware and reoperation risk in foot, ankle, hand, and wrist indications.

How vendors can use bundles, standardized sets, and service agreements to balance pricing pressure while sustaining value.

The Global Cannulated Screw Market Report from iData Research answers these questions with device-level sizing, company share analysis, and pricing detail.

Use it to quantify demand, prioritize product development, shape pricing strategy, and plan commercial execution across material and size segments.