CLEVELAND - Global demand for coatings is forecast to rise 5.4 percent per year to 45.6 million metric tons in 2015. Advances will be driven by a strong acceleration in world building construction spending, particularly residential construction, which is expected to rebound in North America and Western Europe. Healthy growth in global manufacturing activity will also fuel increased demand for coatings used in the production of motor vehicles and other durable goods, as well as industrial maintenance applications. Solvent-based coatings will continue to see their share of the market decline in both developed and developing markets, as ongoing efforts to reduce the emission of VOCs are spurring the rise of alternative formulations. These and other trends are presented in World Paint & Coatings, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.  

The Asia-Pacific region will remain the leading consumer of coatings through 2015 and will also see the most rapid gains. Regional demand will be fueled by China and India, the two largest markets in Asia and two of the fastest-growing coatings markets in the world. Additionally, an improved outlook for coatings demand in Japan will bolster gains in the Asia-Pacific region. Above-average advances are also forecast for North America, which will rebound strongly from the declining demand of the 2005-2010 period. Coatings demand in the region will benefit from a greatly improved outlook for building construction and manufacturing activity in the United States. While coatings demand in Western Europe will see a similar recovery from recent declines, the region will be the world’s slowest-growing regional market.