Global demand development for expandable polystyrene (EPS) in the construction and packaging industries will slow down, but continues.
Important factors are the recovery of the construction sector after the financial and economic crisis in 2008/09, state-funded programs to improve energy efficiency, and increasing wealth and population in emerging countries.
Average growth rates of 4.8% p.a. that have been generated in the previous eight years are unlikely to be reached again, but the international market research institute Ceresana nevertheless expects consumption to increase at an AAGR of 3.8% in the next eight years. An expected market volume of more than US$15 billion in 2020 shows that the market for EPS is well worth a closer examination.
Growth Motor Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific already is the most important consumer of EPS worldwide, accounting for about 54% of global demand, followed by Western and Eastern Europe. Distribution of market shares is likely to change notably in the upcoming eight year period.
Market analysts at Ceresana forecast Asian-Pacific countries to continue to gain shares of the global EPS market, mostly at the expense of saturated industrialized countries in Western Europe and North America. Developing and emerging countries, on the other hand, can capitalize on an increasing per capita consumption of packaging materials and other EPS-based products. The by far most important growth motor on the international market is China.
Changes in regional demand will also have an effect on the production structure of manufacturers. "Current EPS capacities of more than 10 million tonnes will be expanded by over 1 million tonnes until 2010", explains Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana. Almost 43% of these new capacities will be created in Asia-Pacific.
Regional Differences
This most comprehensive report worldwide analyzes how the utilization of EPS will develop on individual markets. Due to its technical properties such as low weight, rigidity, and formability, this material can be used in a wide range of different applications. It may be used as heat insulation, cold and sound insulation, in the packaging industry or in the manufacturing of recreational and sports products.
One of the major application areas is the construction sector that accounted for more than 61% of total demand in 2012. European countries in particular record a widespread use of EPS in the construction sector, as a range of state-funded programs target at improving energy efficiency. All around the world, EPS-based products are used in the construction of new residential building and in the refurbishment of old buildings. Even on saturated markets, this can create growth impulses because EPS consumption in the construction sector is expected to increase by 4.1% per year.
Packaging made from EPS that is, for example, used to transport fresh fish or electronic goods, account for more than a third of global demand. Especially in Asia-Pacific and South America EPS products are accounting for a significant share of total demand.
Other EPS-based products include recreational goods such as helmets, cores for surf-boards, life jackets or foam cups for hot beverages. A particularly large consumption volume in this segment is recorded in North America, last but not least due to a comparatively high consumption of foam cups. EPS is also used in child safety seats, casting molds, and horticultural applications. Taken together, all these applications accounted for about 4% of global demand.
The study in brief:
Chapter 1 is a description and analysis of the global EPS market. It provides in-depth analyses on demand, production, and capacities as well as revenue and price development. It also offers a comprehensive overview over development expected for individual countries and regions as well as global market dynamics.
Chapter 2 offers a detailed analysis of the EPS market in the 15 major countries. Data on demand, revenues, production, producers of EPS as well as import and export is provided. Demand is analyzed split by the application areas Packaging, Construction, and Other Applications.
Chapter 3 analyzes the use of EPS as insulation material in the form of blocks or sheets, as packaging for fresh produce or electronic goods as well as in other applications. Data on demand development is split by Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Also, consumption figures for specific regions are given.
Chapter 4 provides a useful list of producers that manufacture EPS, clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, profile summary, product-specific information, and capacities. Extensive profiles are provided for 58 manufacturers, including Loyal Group, Wuxi Xingda Group, BASF SE, Ineos Group, Ming Dih Group Corporation, and Sunpor Kunststoff GmbH.
About Ceresana:
Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector and operates branch offices in Constance, Vienna, and Hong Kong. For more than 10 years, it has been supplying several thousand customers from 55 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions.
Ceresana's clients profit from practical consulting services, tailor-made single client studies and more than 40 independent multi client market studies.
The Ceresana business analysts are specialists in markets chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, packaging, and construction materials.