World Demand for Industrial and Institutional Cleaning Chemicals to Approach $38 Billion

Global demand for industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning chemicals is projected to increase 4.4 percent per year to nearly $38 billion in 2013.  This will represent a deceleration from the 2003-2008 period, during which overall economic growth was stronger in most parts of the world and prices were driven upward by higher energy and raw material costs.  In general, gains are expected to be much stronger in developing countries, while the more mature markets of the US, Western Europe and Japan are projected to post more modest advances.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Industrial & Institutional Cleaning Chemicals, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

North America and Western Europe are the largest regional markets for I&I cleaning chemicals, combining to account for more than 60 percent of global demand in 2008.  The US will remain the largest single market, a function of its overall affluence coupled with its large number of foodservice outlets and other commercial establishments, substantial manufacturing base, and sizable health care system.  Western Europe is projected to register the slowest growth among regional markets, due to sluggish economic expansion and very slow population growth.  In contrast, the Asia/Pacific region will register very strong gains, boosted mainly by the continued robustness of the Chinese market.  Advances in most of the rest of the Asia/Pacific region will also be healthy, offsetting subpar growth in Japan.  The other, somewhat less developed regional markets -- Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa and the Middle East -- are also projected to post gains above the world average, although they will continue to account for a comparatively small share of the global market. 

Commercial markets account for a majority of global I&I cleaning chemical demand.  Foodservice is by far the largest commercial market.  However, the foodservice market is projected to register growth slightly below the average for commercial markets, in part due to the increased popularity of disposable serviceware in quick service restaurants and cafeterias.  Food and beverage processing is the largest manufacturing market, for many of the same reasons that foodservice is the largest commercial market: food and beverage processing of some sort occurs nearly everywhere, and the need to assure that food is handled and prepared safely boosts demand for products used to wash raw food ingredients and processing equipment.

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.