Coatings World - May 2009

Marine Coatings Market

Growth in the marine coatings market can be attributed to a surge in new

building in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as high demand for exported goods

from the region.

BY TIM WRIGHT

EDITOR

Marine coatings systems are applied to ships and structures in both the sea and fresh water environments. They serve the dual purpose of protecting against deterioration and keeping ships looking good. The world merchant fleet is comprised mostly of bulk carriers and tankers, but also includes container ships, cargo ships and passen-ger/cruise ships among others. In terms of value, the marine coatings market was worth approximately $4 billion in 2007, or roughly four percent of the total global coatings market, on a volume of 840 million liters.

According to IPPIC’s “Global Paint and Coatings Industry Market Analysis Report (2007-2012),” the growth of marine paints is projected to slow and level off over the next five yeaers and will be worth $4.7 billion in 2012 on a volume of 904 million liters.

The global marine coatings market is heavily consolidated, the IPPICreport said, with 80% of the market owned by five companies—AkzoNobel, through its International Paint business, Chugoku Marine Paints, Hempel’s Marine Paints, Jotun and PPG.

Asia-Pacific dominates the global distribution of marine coatings for both new ship builds and maintenance and repair. China is fast becoming the world’s largest shipbuilding nation and has set a goal of becoming number one in the industry by 2015. In 2007 the order books at Chinese shipyards surpassed those of Japan to be second only to South Korea. In terms of new orders, China was actually number one in 2007, totalling 98.5 million deadweight tons, or 42% of the global total, according to the Beijing government.

Cunard Line chose International Paint’s fluoropolymer foul release coating Intersleek 900 for the underwater hull of its transatlantic ocean liner Queen Mary 2.

In terms of regional distribution of marine coatings, the IPPIC report said Asia-Pacific accounts for 56% of the market followed by Europe with 24%, North Ameria 8%, Latin America <1% and ROW markets 12%.

Coatings World discussed market trends and issues with experts at two leading marine paint manufacturers—Jotun and International Paint.

Coatings World: How did the marine coatings market perform in 2008? What are your expectations for 2009 and beyond and how is the global financial crisis impacting the marine coatings market?

tors in the first half of the year. A particular issue for us was the volatile price of copper and zinc—key raw materials used in antifoulings and anticorrosive primers. Despite this, 2008 was a good year with sales volume growth being achieved for the fourth year in a row.

For 2009, we’re seeing continued volatility in raw material prices but exchange rate differentials can, if sustained, work in our favor. It is inevitable we will be affected by the global downturn and there is concern over visibility in the maintenance market and the newbuilding orderbook post 2010 but measures are in place to ensure we’re able to maximize opportunities and take advantage of the upturn when it arrives.