Growth in Pigments, Solvents Markets Forecast in Studies
CLEVELAND - Value gains in the U.S. market for pigments in the next several years will be driven by a shift in the product mix toward more costly organic and specialty products that offer environmental or unique optical effects, a recently issued study concludes.
The study, "Pigments: Organic, Inorganic & Specialty," forecasts that U.S. demand for pigments will accelerate by an average of 5% per year over the next several years, reaching a total market size of $3.6 billion in 2007. The report, from The Freedonia Group Inc., Cleveland, projects that demand for inorganic pigments will remain relatively weak due to the continued phase-out of heavy metals, with demand forecast to rise by an average of 3.6% per year through 2007. Demand for organic pigments, on the other hand, is projected to rise by an average of 5.6% per year, while the growth rate for specialty pigments is forecast at 6.7%.