Coatings World - July 2016

Global demand for paint and coat- ings is forecast to rise 3. 7 percent per year to 54. 7 million metric tons in 2020, valued at $193 billion, according to a new report, “World Paint & Coatings,” from the Freedonai Group. Advances will be driven by strong economic growth in developing regions, particularly in the massive Asia/Pacific market, where robust gains in building construction activity will boost sales of architectural paint. Suppliers to developing regions are also expected to benefit from bright outlooks for manufacturing output and infrastructure spending, which will spur sales of industrial coatings used in the production and upkeep of motor vehicles, furniture, marine vessels, and roads and bridges.

However, analyst Carolyn Zulandt
found that “overall gains will be limited
by the increased use of higher quality
coatings and more efficient application
processes in both the developed and de-
veloping world, reducing the volume nec-
essary to complete a given paint job.”
A significant slowdown in China’s eco-
nomic output and construction spending
will also hinder stronger overall growth.

The fastest growth is forecast for India, where paint use will be fueled by rapidly expanding investment to build or update homes, commercial businesses, and industrial facilities. In China, which alone accounts for over one-third of the global market, a growing middle class will continue to boost demand for architectural paint, while healthy gains in manufacturing output are expected to bolster industrial coatings sales. Among developed nations, the US will post the best performance as building construction activity and fixed investment spending advance at solid rates. Western Europe is expected to see a turnaround in paint sales, spurred by improved economic output and a recovering construction sector.

Coatings suppliers worldwide will
continue to reduce the volatile organic
compound (VOC) content of their prod-
ucts due to intensifying regulatory pres-
sure. As a result, water-based paints and
powder coatings are expected to gain
market share at the expense of solvent-
based products, especially in countries
such as China, where environmental leg-
islation is becoming increasingly strict.
Nonetheless, solventborne formulations
will continue to dominate a number of
specialty applications, including marine
coatings, automotive refinishes and cor-
rosion protection coatings.

Smithers Rapra:
Environmental Issues
Continue to be ‘Hot Button’
for Pigment Suppliers

The value of the high-performance pigments market is estimated as $4.75 billion in 2016, rising to $5.49 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 2.9 percent, according to the latest market research from Smithers Rapra. “The Future of High-Performance Pigments to 2021” analyzes the principal market sectors for high-performance pigments (HPPs) and specialty pigments (SPs). These include coatings, plastics, inks – especially for packaging, cosmetics, textiles and electronics.

Despite the strong move of pigment production to Asia, especially India and China, HPP production is still largely in the control of European, U.S. and Japanese companies.

Several technical advances in the end-user markets will spur the demand for new and improved types of HPP across the next five years. There is an increase in demand for more specialized and unique end-use pigments. Small and niche players are also focusing on increased usage of specialized pigments, such as thermochromic pigments and daylight fluorescent pigments. Current and future developments in nano-pigment technology, currently feeding the high end of the market (special effect pigments) can be expected to have an impact on uses of high-performance pigments.

Report author Trevor Sayer said: “Environmental issues will continue to be a hot-button issue for pigment suppliers. Without question the biggest challenge to the global pigment market will be stricter environmental regulation, especially related to water and industrial waste treatment. Company consolidation is another major trend. It is being driven by tighter regulatory and customer requirements, coupled with the highly competitive nature of the global pigment market.”

The global consumption of HPPs and SPs is estimated at 178,844 tons for 2016, a figure expected to climb to 206,921 tons by the end of 2021 at a CAGR of 3.0 percent. The largest end-use sector is coatings. This will account for 111,584 tons by 2021 – 54 percent of the total market by volume – and have a global value of just under $3 billion. CW