Global paint and coating demand increase 3.7% annually

Global demand for paint and coatings is expected to increase at a rate of 3.7% per year, and by 2005 it will exceed 28 million tons annually. The construction industry, especially residential construction, will remain the largest end-user market for paints and coatings.

The Freedonia Group pointed out that from the geographical distribution point of view, the most rapid growth is emerging developing markets, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the growth rates in Latin America and Eastern Europe also exceed the average level. Within Asia, China is the most important growth point, but the growth potential of India, South Korea, and China Taiwan region cannot be ignored. As for the Japanese market, the overall growth rate is expected to be lower than average, but the paint market is expected to reverse the downward trend in the past 10 years.

Jean Schoder, director-general of the Council of European Paints, Printing Inks and Paints, said that the annual growth rate of the Eastern European paint market is around 8%. He also pointed out that there is still considerable potential for development in Eastern European countries. For example, Polish paint consumption is only 8 kg per capita per capita, while the EU average is 16 kg.

In contrast, the coatings market in Western Europe, North America and Japan has matured and the competition is fierce. It is estimated that the average annual growth rate of the paint industry in these areas is about 2% to 3%. North America and Western Europe will continue to occupy more than half of global demand. The future growth rate in North America will partially compensate for this gap. In order to increase profitability in this mature market, paint and coating companies must make more efforts.