State of the Asian
Coatings Industry:
2013 and Beyond
2013 – A Year of Transition for the Global Economy?
Charles Bangert and Scott Detiveaux, Orr & Boss
As is the case in all regions of the world, coatings demand in Asia Pacific is heavily influenced by a wide array of economic factors. So before getting into the main theme
of this article, let’s first review where we are, or at least where
we think we are, on the state of the global economy. Simply put,
there are two views held by international economists and cable
television pundits on how the global economy is shaping up as
we close in on 2013’s final quarter. Those two divergent views
are: (1) the global economy is certainly improving; and (2) the
global economy is certainly still struggling. Each perspective
will be briefly reviewed below.
Supporters of the first view believe that 2013 may very well
turn out to be the much anticipated “year of transition” for the
economy since the global crisis of 2008 reared its ugly head –
and decided to hang around for a while. The “certainly improv-
ing” crowd believes that the world economy is now on a more
positive, better-balanced growth path. Among their observa-
tions, they point to the worldwide financial risks that existed
a year ago and have since lessened. In particular, they refer to
the risks stemming from Europe’s deep financial challenges. In
recent months, their view is that Europe has begun to deal with
these economic troubles head-on and is working through a solu-
tion. In the United States, they point to the overall improving
economy, the housing market that is finally back on track, and
the pockets of economic boom occurring from cheap domestic
energy sources resulting from drilling methods such hydraulic
fracturing (fracking). The “certainly improving” point of view
also highlights the developing regions of the world, such as parts
of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, which continue to
show strong economic growth, offsetting the sluggish activity of
the mature economies.
38 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
August 2013
