CLEVELAND - Demand for automotive coatings, adhesives and sealants in the United States is forecast to rise 4.1 percent per year to over $7 billion in 2010. Growth in OEM demand will be supported by U.S. motor-vehicle production, which will rebound from declines posted during the 2000-2005 period. However, these gains will be mostly linked to passenger cars, which consume less coatings, adhesives and sealants on a per-vehicle basis than larger vehicles. Aftermarket demand will benefit from gains in the number of vehicles in use, which will rise 1.5 percent annually through 2010.

Aftermarket demand will continue to benefit from a change in the product mix over the last decade favoring larger light vehicles, particularly sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Although demand for light trucks and vans (including SUVs) is slowing compared to recent years due to high fuel prices and market saturation, the number of such large light vehicles will continue to increase as a percentage of total light vehicles in use. Because of the relatively recent emergence of light trucks, vans and SUVs, fewer of them are being retired from the light-vehicle park relative to conventional automobiles. The resultant shift in composition of the vehicle park will favor the aftermarket for coatings, adhesives and sealants, as larger light vehicles require more materials on a per-vehicle basis than conventional automobiles.

These and other trends are presented in "Automotive Coatings, Adhesives & Sealants," a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc. For further details, contact Corinne Gangloff at pr@freedoniagroup.com or visit www.freedoniagroup.com.