Worldwide flame retardant consumption in construction applications is projected to increase 3.2 percent per annum through 2020 to 803,000 metric tons. Between 2010 and 2015, gains were fueled primarily by a rebound in US construction spending, as well as double-digit gains in the Chinese market.
The US is the world's largest market for construction-related flame retardants (over one-fourth of 2015 sales) and the most intensive user relative to building construction spending of any major national market. Through 2020, steady gains in the US will continue to provide an impetus to growth, while building construction activity in China is expected to slow considerably. These and other trends are presented in Global Flame Retardants Market, 6th Edition, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm.
The largest markets for flame retardants are construction products, insulated wire and cable, electronic products, motor vehicles, and textiles. Together these five markets represented 88 percent of worldwide flame retardant sales in 2015. Smaller markets include furnishings, aircraft and aerospace equipment, and marine and railroad equipment. Overall flame retardant sales gains will be fueled by steady gains in manufacturing output, particularly by improvements in motor vehicle output across the developing world and by steady increases in building construction spending in the US.
Trends that will continue to influence the global flame retardant market into the near term include:
- The rising utilization of plastic materials in a wide variety of applications, particularly in motor vehicles, which will be one of the fastest growing markets through 2020.
- Stricter building standards and increasing use of such materials as foam insulation, vinyl flooring, and plastic roofing, particularly in the developing world.
- A trend toward wireless connectivity and mobile electronics, limiting demand in such applications as wire and cable and desktop computers.