Study Predicts Rise in Waterborne Coatings in the Protective and Specialty Markets
CLEVELAND - Historically, solvent-borne coatings have maintained the largest share of protective and specialty coatings. However, waterborne coatings are projected to surpass solvent-borne coatings by 2020 as regulatory concerns continue to impact the protective and specialty market. Solvents will continue to lose share to other formulations, with trends favoring the use of waterborne, high-solids and other coatings, which have lower or no VOC emissions. These and other trends are presented in Protective & Specialty Coatings Market in the U.S., a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm.
Demand for waterborne coatings in the protective and specialty segment is predicted to expand at an annual rate of 2.5% to 85 million gallons in 2020, supplanting solvent-borne coatings as the market leader. The trend toward waterborne coatings in the automotive refinish market, which historically has widely used solvent-borne coatings in an array of applications, is of particular importance for this formulation. End users of automotive refinishes have increasingly adopted waterborne coatings due to their improved color matching capabilities and faster drying times than their solvent-based counterparts.