News / Business
Geosynthetics Market is to be Robust and Steadily Growing
US demand to rise 8.4% annually through 2017
Demand for geosynthetics is forecast to climb 6.5 percent per year to 1.3 billion square yards in 2017. Improved macroeconomics, particularly accelerated spending on the construction of structures and roads, will promote growth. Gains in geosynthetics demand will also benefit from increased market penetration, as engineers continue to become more aware of the long-term cost and performance advantages of these products at the expense of traditional geotechnical solutions (e.g., compacted soil and stone aggregate layers). In value terms, demand for geosynthetics is forecast to grow 6.5 percent per year to $2.9 billion in 2017, benefiting from price increases and renewed growth for some higher value, specialty geosynthetics.
Geotextiles to remain dominant product type
Geotextiles will remain the largest product segment, projected to account for 70 percent of total area demand in 2017. Geotextiles’ position is dependent on its versatility, which allows these products to be used in a wide range of markets and applications. Favorable gains in geotextiles demand will benefit from their dominant position in the transportation infrastructure and construction markets. Further promoting gains is the fact that engineers continue to realize the benefit of using these materials in road and other construction activities. Nonwoven geotextiles, for example, are finding expanded use in concrete road rehabilitation applications as an alternative to hot-mix asphalt in unbounded concrete overlays. However, in 2017, higher price geomembranes are projected to represent 46 percent of total geosynthetics market demand in value terms. More application specific products -- e.g., geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, geonets, and geofoams -- are expected to post the fastest gains in area demand through 2017.
Construction to be fastest growing market
Construction and transportation infrastructure markets accounted for 60 percent of total area demand for geosynthetics in 2012. Historically, construction accounted for the largest share of geosynthetics area demand; however, the market slipped from its leading position in 2012 due to a severe downturn in construction spending after 2007. Going forward, the construction market is projected to register the most rapid gains through 2017, aided by a recovery in construction spending. The transportation infrastructure market will provide opportunities for a number of geosynthetics as spending on highways accelerates from rates achieved during the 2007 to 2012 period. Geogrids are among the geosynthetics expected to benefit from improved spending on transportation infrastructure. These products, for example, are being used more fequently in order to reduce the need for excavation and fill material when constructing roadbeds. Increased concerns regarding environmental protection will provide additional incentives to use geosynthetics. For example, the implementation of proposed Federal rulemaking regarding coal ash disposal has the potential of creating rapid gains for geosynthetics to line and cap coal ash containment sites. Concerns regarding the leaching of hazardous material into soil and groundwater at mining and shale gas sites will also pro-mote geosynthetics use in containment applications. Protecting soil against erosion is another environmental use of geosynthetics.
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