World Plumbing Products Demand to Reach $80 Billion

Global demand for plumbing fixtures and fittings is forecast to increase 6.2 percent per year through 2016 to $80 billion, an acceleration from the pace of the 2006-2011 period.  This increase is expected to be driven by two main factors.  In industrializing countries of the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast regions, rising per capita incomes will be the primary driver of demand. In developed countries, including the US, Canada, and those in Western Europe, an expected recovery in construction spending will generate demand. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Plumbing, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.  

The Asia/Pacific region will see the most rapid growth in demand, primarily fueled by China’s increasing, albeit decelerating, rate of industrialization.  China alone is forecast to account for one-half of the increase in global plumbing demand generated between 2011 and 2016.  The country’s vast population makes infrastructure and sewage system development a necessity, supporting demand by households that previously did not have a piped water supply.  Other industrializing countries in Asia, such as India and Indonesia, and in the Africa/Mideast region will also contribute to overall plumbing product demand.

North America is forecast to post the second fastest regional growth in plumbing product demand through 2016, primarily fueled by the rebound in the US construction market after the downturn during the global financial crisis.  Canada and Mexico are also expected to post healthy gains.

The slowest plumbing product demand growth is anticipated in Western Europe, primarily due to the region’s mature building infrastructure and slow population growth, which combine to limit building construction activity.  However, the pace is expected to accelerate from that between 2006 and 2011.  While construction expenditures in this region are predicted to grow at the slowest rate globally, they will reflect a recovery from a low 2011 base. 

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.