pacity and number of staff during the boom of 2001-2008,” he
said. “This has led to a market which is far more competitive in
terms of pricing and thus, inhibiting a sound profitability.”
Raw materials key to the manufacture of both marine and
protective coatings products have been affected by inflationary
drivers including epoxy resins, titanium dioxide, solvents, copper
and other metals. “We have attempted to minimize the impact
on our customers for as long as possible by leveraging our buy-
ing power and driving internal cost saving measures,” said West-
cott. “Unfortunately the increase in raw material costs shows no
sign of abatement and therefore regrettably we now have little
choice but to initiate a program of product price rises.”
The rise in raw material costs no doubt is a significant chal-
lenge for the global marine coatings market. “Raw materials such
as epoxy resins and TiO2 used in ballast tank coatings and top-
side systems have risen significantly over the last year and are
predicted to go even higher throughout 2011 and 2012,” said
Dickey. “Also, the price of copper is at or near record highs, hav-
ing nearly doubled over the past years, and that will affect an-
tifouling paint costs.
“Overall, in view of these increases in costs and rising oil
and fuel prices, our view is that coatings costs will continue to
rise and may have to increase significantly in the short term,”
Dickey continued.
Asia Pacific dominates the global market
Despite the obstacles presented by raw material costs and price
increases, marine coatings manufacturers are looking to the Asia
Pacific region for growth opportunities. This region remains the
leader in terms of marine coatings consumption.
“Asia was the leader before the downturn and is now to an
even greater degree the largest and most active region for marine coatings,” said Dickey. “With China, South Korea and Japan
representing nearly 80 percent of the world’s newbuilding capacity and China now leading in the number of drydocks and
drydocking, Asia is growing two or three times more than any
other region.
“In our view, the recent global economic rebound is responsible
for growth in marine coatings in Asia, the U.S. and Europe,” Dickey
continued. “The Asian economy is nearly back to pre-recession levels and Brazil is experiencing significant growth in response to increased activity in the petrochemical and mining segments.
Evensen said increased growth in BRICK countries (Brazil,
India, China and South Korea) is the key trend in the marine
coatings market. “The main regions in terms of where the coat-
ings are actually applied are China, South Korea and Japan,” he
said. “This is mainly due to the huge numbers of new building
and also dry dockings in those countries. Several of the major
yards have started to diversify to a higher extent and not take
on new types of projects such as modules for the oil and gas in-
dustries. In addition, there are certain areas that due to their
strategic locations play a vital role. These places include Singa-
pore, Amsterdam, Dubai, the Suez Canal area and so forth.”
According to Westcott, the outlook for the shipping market in
2011 is mixed. “Analysts are bullish on container trade, while less
confident in a dry bulk market that has started the year poorly,”
he said. “Geographical mix also plays a part. Asian economies are
already returning to strong growth, while the U.S. is recovering
gradually, but European growth remains weak.” CW
www.coatingsworld.com
May 2011
