Neck and Neck

PCI is excited to publish our annual Global Top 10 and PCI 25 in this issue. These rankings of the top 10 global and top 25 North American coatings manufacturers are based on 2022 coatings sales figures, and do not include sales of coatings-related products such as floor coverings, application supplies, and wallcoverings. Managing Editor, Courtney Bassett, compiled the information found in these two articles from annual reports, company contacts, press releases, and websites.

Sherwin-Williams has reclaimed the lead as the top coatings manufacturer in the world, with reported coatings sales of $17.72 billion, while PPG bumped down to second place, with sales of $17.652 billion. This year’s results are some of the closest in the nearly 30-year history that PCI has been publishing the Global Top 10 and PCI 25. The difference between the top two companies’ reported 2022 coatings sales is only $68 million.

And it may be even closer than that. Sherwin-Williams reported that coatings sales figures are an approximation of its total consolidated sales of $22.15 billion. PCI used the company’s 80% approximation in our ranking, however even a 0.5% decrease in that estimated percentage would have changed our ranking results.

The bigger story is Sherwin-Williams’ 2022 global acquisition spree, which helped drive sales up $1.76 billion over the prior year, placing the company in the top spot. But Sherwin-Williams wasn’t alone in the M&A arena. According to a report from COATING Insights, the top 11 global coatings companies in 2022 grew by 3.8%, which the agency says is primarily due to intensive acquisition activities. Some other notable acquisitions last year included True Value Company’s purchase of Ohio-based Yenkin-Majestic Paint Co. (taking Yenkin-Majestic out of our ranking and bumping True Value’s place from 16 to 13 this year); and KANSAI HELIOS’ acquisitions of Beckers’ global railway coatings business, and German powder coating producer WS Lackfabrik GmbH.

The majority of companies in our reporting saw overall net sales increases last year, however some industry and regional segments reported a decrease in sales. Many indicated that higher sales were driven by higher selling prices, and that net income in 2022 decreased due to raw material costs, lower sales volumes, unfavorable foreign currency translation, and higher manufacturing costs. Overall, sales volumes were negatively affected by factors such as increased costs, destocking in the distribution channels, and the impact of COVID-19 in China.

The results for 2022 are mixed. Revenues were up, but mostly due to price increases, not volume; and profits were down, as the price increases weren’t able to keep up with cost increases and other factors. The future of the industry, however, looks healthier. In June of this year, Research and Markets published a report estimating the global paint and coatings market size at USD $158.94 billion in 2022, USD $170.73 billion in 2023, and projected it to grow at a CAGR of 7.73% to reach USD $288.41 billion by 2030.

If your company is not included in our report, and you feel it should be, please contact Courtney Bassett at bassettc@bnpmedia.com.