Global Paint & Coatings Industry
Freedonia estimates world paint and coatings demand will witness yearly growth of more than 5%, reaching almost 46 metric tons in 2015 by which time the industry is expected to be worth $142 billion. Market expansion will be fuelled by increased activity in the global building construction sector, with residential construction in particular witnessing strong recovery in Western Europe and North America. Increased manufacturing activity will equally lead to greater demand for coatings necessary for the production of motor vehicles and other industrial maintenance applications.
The architectural coating segment dominates the world paint and coatings market, reports Koncept Analytics. Apart from the construction and automotive sectors, other end-use industries relying on the paints and coatings sector include marine, wooden furniture, and steel. Sales of solvent-based paint and coatings are expected to continue falling in developed and emerging regions due to efforts to limit the emission of volatile organic compounds and use alternative formulations instead. Demand for green-based chemicals continues to rise, for example zero volatile organic component (VOC) coatings have become very popular as solvent-based products become increasingly replaced with water-based products.
Market Segments
- Global demand for paint and coatings through 2015 will continue to come mainly from architectural markets, reports Freedonia. Strong recovery in the construction sector and growth in residential building spending, led by the US but also in Japan and Western Europe, will fuel demand for architectural paint and furniture coatings. Similarly, recovery in the automotive sector and increased demand for new vehicles will drive demand for coatings in manufacturing applications. There will be slower gains in other segments such as the maintenance and specialty coatings markets, which will be slowed by declining marine applications and a poor outlook in the vehicle refinish coatings segment in developed nations.
- High–performance ceramic coatings have a myriad of uses and require special preparation techniques. Ceramic coatings are commonly used applications that need to resist high temperatures, wear and corrosion. High–performance ceramic coatings have revolutionized internal specification patterns. This is the case with cutting tool inserts, whose useful life is far superior to that of uncoated inserts, which has reduced the cost of cutting tool inserts and boosted productivity, reports BCC Research. Ceramic–coated components used in the manufacture of aircraft turbine engines similarly benefit the aviation industry. In addition, consumers are taking advantage of these products, coating auto engine components to lengthen engine life and improve performance.
- The world automotive coating industry was worth close to $15 billion in 2011, representing 10% growth year-on-year, according to Research in China. The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automotive coating market witnessed almost 11% growth over the same period to reach almost $8 billion. The automotive refinishing coating market rose 14% to nearly $7 billion in 2011. Growth in the automotive coating market is fuelled by an increasing number of car owners. Automotive coatings generally refer to cationic electrocoat and primer surface, which are both present in the OEM automotive coating. Automotive refinishing coating meanwhile only refers to primer surface. There are less than 10 manufacturers across the globe able to manufacture cationic electrocoat as it requires high technological threshold. Leading players include KCC, Dupont, BASF, Kansai Paints, PPG and Nippon Paints.
Regional Market Share
- The Asia-Pacific region will continue to dominate the paint and coatings industry in terms of consumption through 2015. The region is also set to record the fastest growth, according to research from Freedonia. China and India will lead regional demand as Asia’s two largest markets, and exhibit the highest growth in the global coatings market. North America, similarly, is expected to record above-average gains, recovering from the market dip witnessed between 2005 and 2010. Increasing levels of building construction and manufacturing activity will drive growth in the US coating market over coming years. Though Western Europe will also see recovery in these sectors drive demand for paints and coatings, it will continue to lag behind in terms of growth.
- India’s paint market has witnessed growing demand in recent years due to rising levels of disposable income, and increased activity in the industrial, infrastructure and automotive sectors. RNCOS estimates the industry will record 15% yearly growth between 2012 and 2015. An obstacle to market growth lies in its highly raw material-intensive nature, making it vulnerable in the case of fluctuation in the availability and price of raw materials.
Market Outlook
Technological innovation remains a priority in the global paint and coatings sector as leading industry players seek to meet consumer demand while complying with regulations. Koncept Analytics points to the impact of raw materials, natural gas and oil prices on the market, particularly the marine coating market.
The industry will continue to witness a shift from solvent-based to water-based coatings as manufacturers cut their product volatile organic compound (VOC) content in a bid to respect environmental standards, reports Freedonia.
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