More than 114 million tonnes of plastics worldwide were extruded in 2015, a new study says, with about 51% of that being used in the Asia-Pacific region.
The study, by market research company Ceresana, also noted that North America and Western Europe followed with market shares of 15.5% and 13.2% respectively.
“Over the past eight years, global demand for products made of PVC rose by an average of 2.3% per year,” the study said. “The second most important plastic type for extrusion is polyethylene-LLDPE, with a market share of approximately 18%.”
The most important sales market for extrusion products is packaging, the study said, especially films, bags and sacks, and shrink and stretch films. “This market profits from an ongoing trend towards flexible packaging solutions that reduce weight and the use of resources and also increase consumer convenience,” it said. “The tendency towards shrinking packaging sizes in the segments hygiene and pharma also leads to an expected growth. The most important type of plastics in the segment packaging is LLDPE, followed by polypropylene and polyethylene-LDPE.”
The second largest sales market is products for the construction industry. “By far the most important plastic in the construction industry is PVC,” the study said. “In 2015, about 22.5 million tonnes of this material were used. Demand for plastic pipes is mainly growing in the emerging countries where urbanization and new constructions play a major role. However, in the developed industrial states, renovation and replacement of the existing networks are important.”
But the “most dynamic” demand development for extrusion will take place in the transportation and electrical and electronics segments, Ceresana said. “From 2015 to 2023, [we] expect global demand in these application areas to increase by 3.1% and 2.9% per year,” the report said.
For more information on the Ceresana extrusion report, click on this link.
