George Pilcher
Vice President
The ChemQuest Group
Tuesday, September 8
11:00 am – 11:50 am CST
The View From 2020: Where Is the Global Coatings Industry Today, and Where Is It Going?
In Q1 of its 11th year of recovery from The Great Recession of 2008-2009, the global coatings industry was struck by the Global Covid-19 pandemic, which brought with it a great degree of economic disruption. Currently in the midst of the pandemic, we have no idea what the global economy will look like or how far-reaching the ramifications will be. In September 2020, we hope to address the current state of the paint and coatings industry and where it will head during its initial recovery. Who will be the winners and who will be the losers, if pandemic-induced consolidation continues apace, with the survivors either acquiring—or replacing—those that didn’t survive? Make no mistake, the economic toll will likely be dramatic—but whether it will be devastating or difficult-but-manageable (or somewhere in between) will be determined by many factors, including worldwide government economic intervention, that may not be completely clear even by Q3. Will those U.S. companies that are hard hit because their supply chain originates in Asia Pacific re-think this issue in the future—or will they breathe a sigh of relief that they made it through this round of economic turmoil, and get back to “business as usual”? Too early to tell. . . . Nonetheless, both the U.S. and the global economic outlook for the paint and coatings industry will remain clouded until the health crisis passes, and we can obtain a clearer look at the economic crisis that has replaced it. Stay tuned.