A fan case and method of manufacturing a fan case, for a gas turbine engine, where the fan case has a hollow tubular metal shell with: a central axis of symmetry; an inlet; an outlet; and peripheral wall about the axis to encompass the tips of a plurality of rotary fan blades, and the shell wall includes an upstream portion defining an annular abradable material recess that extends axially having an upstream end at the shell inlet and a downstream end located upstream from the shell outlet.