Global Paint and Coatings Demand to Approach 46 Million Metric Tons in 2015

Global demand for paint and coatings is forecast to rise 5.4 percent per year to 45.6 million metric tons in 2015.  Advances will be driven by a strong acceleration in world building construction spending, particularly residential construction, which is expected to rebound in North America and Western Europe.  Healthy growth in global manufacturing activity will also fuel increased demand for coatings used in the production of motor vehicles and other durable goods, as well as industrial maintenance applications.  Solvent-based paint and coatings will continue to see their share of the market decline in both developed and developing markets, as ongoing efforts to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are spurring the rise of alternative formulations.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Paint & Coatings, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.  

The Asia/Pacific region will remain the leading consumer of paint and coatings through 2015, and will also see the most rapid gains.  Regional demand will be fueled by China and India, the two largest markets in Asia and two of the fastest-growing coatings markets in the world.  Additionally, an improved outlook for coatings demand in Japan will bolster gains in the Asia/Pacific region.  Above-average advances are also forecast for North America, rebounding strongly from the declining demand of the 2005-2010 period.  Coatings demand in the region will benefit from a greatly improved outlook for building construction and manufacturing activity in the US.  While paint and coatings demand in Western Europe will see a similar recovery from recent declines, the region will be the world’s slowest-growing regional market. 

Architectural markets will continue to account for a majority of paint and coatings demand in 2015.  Demand for architectural paint will be fueled by healthy growth in residential construction spending, particularly in the US, Western Europe and Japan.  Coatings demand in manufacturing applications will benefit from a pickup in world motor vehicle production, as well as an improvement in building construction activity, which will drive demand for furniture coatings.  Maintenance and specialty coatings markets will see moderately slower gains, restrained by a downturn in marine applications, as well as a more negative outlook for vehicle refinish coatings in the developed countries of the world.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.