The Asia-Pacific region is rapidly expanding, fueled by a growing economy and emerging middle class. This growth is driving demand for many building and industrial materials, including paints and coatings. According to
market research firm IRL’s report “A Profile of the Asia-Pacific
Paint Industry,” the total market for paints and coatings was
21. 4 million tons in 2013, and is forecast by IRL to increase to
29.2 million tons by 2018; this is equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 6. 4 perecent in the medium term.
Other Key Finding from the Report
China is by far the largest national market for paints and coatings in the Asia-Pacific region, followed at some considerable
distance by India and Japan. The smallest markets are those
of New Zealand and Singapore. While medium-term growth
is forecast to be low in the more developed and mature markets such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the developing
market of India is predicted to demonstrate growth of over 10
percent per annum over the next five years. India still offers
significant potential for paints and coatings market growth, as
per capita consumption remains very low.
The Chinese market is still offering good medium-term growth
of around 6. 5 percent per annum for paints and coatings suppliers,
driven by growth in downstream industries such as automotive,
construction, shipbuilding, petrochemicals and civil engineering.
However, this forecast growth is lower than in previous years as the
country is experiencing slower economic growth, caused by rising
costs of labor, land and raw materials,and increasing taxes.
The third tier of growth markets comprises the Southeast
Asian economies of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines
and Malaysia. These countries are experiencing rising incomes,
improving standards of living and increasing domestic demand,
while labor and production costs remain relatively low.
Overall in Asia-Pacific, architectural coatings account for
just less than 50 percent of the total paints and coatings market,
although this figure varies considerably from country to country. India’s high share of the architectural segment, at over 80
percent, reflects the very underdeveloped nature of much of the
country’s industrial infrastructure.
Protective coatings and general industrial coatings (including
can and coil coatings) are the second and third largest end-use
segments, respectively. New Zealand and Singapore are the only
two countries with no consumption of automotive OEM coat-
ings, since they do not possess any automotive production fa-
cilities. Australia’s consumption of automotive OEM coatings is
expected to fall to zero by 2018 as the country loses its vehicle
manufacturing capabilities.
The relative importance of the protective coatings segment
is underpinned by the considerable activities in terms of oil and
gas production, energy generation and mining that take place
in many of the Asia-Pacific countries. Protective coatings have
a particularly large share of the market in China due to the fast
growth of sectors such as civil engineering, marine engineering
and container manufacturing.
Marine coatings have a very high share of the national paints
and coatings market in Singapore, reflecting that country’s importance as a regional hub for maritime transportation, and also
in South Korea, which remains a key shipbuilding nation despite
losing some business in recent years to China and other low-cost
countries such as Indonesia.
Key findings from leading market research firms indicate that the market for paint and
coatings in the Asia Pacific region is poised for more growth.
Asia Pacific Report
According to findings from IRL, global sales volume of architectural paint
experienced a slowdown between 2012 and 2014, although the market is
expected to gain pace from 2015 onwards. In terms of value, global sales of
architectural coatings reached $60 billion in 2014. The majority of the market
value was generated by sales of vinyl/styrene/VAE paint, followed by pure
acrylic paint.
