Coatings World - January 2017

Catherine Diamond, Associate Editor

Improvements in the housing market are good for nearly ev- eryone. New home constructions are up, as are renovation projects. As a result, the demand for interior architectural coatings has increased and is expected to rise nearly 4 percent through the end of 2019 in the U.S. alone. According to a report by The Freedonia Group – Paints & Coatings to 2019 – this $31.5 billion industry will grow to reach 1.4 billion gallons.

This is very good news for interior coatings manufacturers.

“Gains will be driven by a strong rebound in construc-
tion activity, which will stimulate demand in the architectural
market,” researchers found. “Environmentally friendly, low
VOC paint and coating products will continue to see particu-
larly strong growth as manufacturers develop new products
to meet stricter government regulations and changing con-
sumer tastes. Additionally, new technological advances, such as
nanostructured coatings, will drive future growth as they open
new applications by providing antimicrobial, self-cleaning,
sound-dampening, anticorrosive, and light-emitting functions.”
“The fastest growth for paint is expected in new residen-
tial construction as housing completions rise at a double-digit
annual pace, but demand in improvement and repair applica-
tions will increase as well. Overall, demand for interior paint,
which accounts for about two-thirds of the market, will outpace
demand for exterior paint due to increased use of siding ma-
terials that do not require painting. Additionally, water-based
paint formulations will continue to grow faster than solvent-
based formulations due to environmental concerns, although
most architectural paint has already switched from solvent- to
waterborne formulas.”