A Global Overview of the Polyurethane Dispersions (PUD) Market

IAL Consultants, London, UK, 2009, EUR 3,500

IAL Consultants has released the first edition of its global review of the polyurethane dispersions industry, titled A Global Overview of the Polyurethane Dispersions (PUD) Market. Some of the trends discussed in the study are summarised below.

The global market for PUDs in 2009 has been estimated at 227,350 tonnes and is expected to grow at about 5.2 % pa over the coming five years, to reach a market of about 292,300 tonnes by 2014. The main drivers for growth are their excellent performance attributes and the substitution of solvent-based products with more environmentally-friendly equivalents.

According to the study, strongest growth in the application segments is expected to show in the leather and textile industries (6.2 % pa), with the slowest growth in the industrial coatings sector (4.5 % pa). Market growth in adhesives and fibre glass sizing is expected to fall within this range.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is the most important region for the production of PUDs, output in this region amounting to about 103,000 tonnes in 2009. Despite rising competition from Asian and Latin American sources, this is still the leading region for the production of PUDs for leather and textile applications, with Italy and Turkey being key markets. In Europe, there has been a trend towards consolidation in the PUDs segment.

In the Americas, the emphasis on PUD production is very strongly geared towards industrial coatings, which account for 43,300 tonnes out of a total of 66,900 tonnes in 2009. However, leather and textile PUD output tends to be concentrated more in South America and Mexico, say the IAL analysts.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the balance between leather and textile applications on the one hand and industrial coatings on the other is almost equal. China is the single most important driving force in this region; it is fairly fragmented as an industry, while the Japanese industry is much more organised and home to regional and multinational players which supply to other parts of Asia, Europe and North America. China is currently the source of many PUD manufacturing expansion plans for the region.

Development of the market has been limited mainly by the fact that PUDs are high-end products and so their relatively high price has had a prohibitive effect on their consumption, especially in sectors such as the coatings industry where there are many cheaper alternatives still available. However, the constant emphasis of the need for water-based products and continued refinement and enhancement of the product qualities generated through the use of PUDs almost guarantees their strong growth throughout the coming years.

• Europe has the largest market for UV-curable PUDs at about 6,500 tonnes.
   Up until the effects of the economic crisis during the first quarter of 2009, it        was a market growing at 20 % pa. Growth is expected to resume at this level    before long, being driven by wood and PVC flooring applications. Plastic              finishing is another potential growth area, particularly where aesthetic                advantages can be achieved.
• In the USA, the market is noticeably different from that of Europe. Less                legislation is in place to generate the impetus necessary for conversion to          water-based coatings. Again, this reduces the level of interest in                          environmentally-friendly products, such as UV-PUDs. Hotspots of                          environmental regulation, such as California, may yet lead the way in the            greater acceptance of such products in the coming years.
• In Asia, the market for UV-PUDs is smaller than that of Europe but growing          strongly. This is due to the electronics industries in China and Taiwan. In            particular, the manufacture of consumer electronics goods by the likes of            Samsung and LG with greener finishes is driving consumption of such                  environmentally-friendly products. High solvent prices in China are also                responsible for turning industry eyes to water-based products.