ELMWOOD PARK, NJ – According to a study by the consulting firm Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, the global consumption of formulated adhesives was 16.6 billion pounds in 2009, worth $20.6 billion.

The Asia-Pacific region led in dollars in 2009 with its consumption of just over $7 billion, representing 34 percent of the global total. China was an outlet for nearly one-half of the region’s dollars and is forecast to expand at a nine-percent annual rate through 2014. Japan was one-fifth of the region’s value and is a mature market. India represented only five percent of the Asia-Pacific dollars but is the fastest growing country for adhesives.

Europe consumed 32 percent of the global adhesive dollars in 2009, with 93 percent in EU-member countries. Modest growth is forecast, with Russia, Turkey and other Eastern European countries expected to advance faster than Western European countries. North America took 27 percent of the 2009 adhesive dollars. Modest growth is also forecast as the region recovers from the lows of the global recession.

South America took five percent of the global adhesive dollars in 2009, with 57 percent coming from Brazil. The Brazilian economy recovered faster from the recession than the developed economies of the world, and adhesive consumption in the country declined only slightly in 2009. Regional growth is forecast at five percent per year through 2014.

For additional information about this study, titled The Global Adhesives Industry, visit www.kusumgar-nerlfi-growney.com.