March 04, 2015
Wellesley, Mass., February 04, 2015 – BCC Research reveals in its new report on high-performance films, the global high-performance (HP) films market is expected to grow to nearly 14 billion pounds in 2019, reflecting a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%. Trends driving growth include international efforts to reduce the use of plastics based on fossil fuel, growing photovoltaic consumption in China, Japan and other Asian countries, and an abundance of cheap natural gas feedstock from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) of tight gas shales that will provide the opportunity for large petrochemical and polymer companies to rebuild their U.S. plants.
The specialty film ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) dominates the polyolefin-based high-performance films market, and its market share will increase further due to expanding photovoltaic applications. The market estimate for EVA (photovoltaic application) is 955 million lbs. in 2018, registering a robust CAGR of 8.2%.
However, the bioplastics segment, which are plastic polymers derived from renewable biomass resources such as corn, soybeans, grasses, waste biomass, is the fastest-growing segment in the market. Bioplastics can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable, an eco-friendly or “green” attribute that will push their use into direct competition with fossil fuel-based competitors. The increasing demand for bioplastics partly stems from the renewability and recycling option they present. The resin volume of bioplastics is projected to more than triple from 347 million lbs. in 2014 to 1,086 billion lbs. in 2019, reflecting a whopping CAGR of 25.6%.
Five regions comprise the overall market for polyester films: U.S., China, Europe, Asia and others. The region “others” includes South America, Africa, Oceania and the North American countries (minus the U.S.). In each of these regions, the high-performance plastic films market often grows faster than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because most regions aggressively grab market share from conventional materials. For example, polyolefin-based high-performance films are used as nontoxic replacements for PVC packaging films. As a result, polyolefin-based packaging films will grow faster than common packaging films and GDP.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which comprises almost all of the polyester films market and accounts for most packaging applications, dominates more than half of the total HP films market. PET films will continue to dominate the market, while bioplastic films will experience very strong growth over the next five years.
“High-performance plastic films have become a large and important niche market within the immense plastic films industry,” says BCC Research plastics analyst Jason Chen. “High-performance films are specialty products that sell at premium prices because they do jobs that commodity films cannot do. Their use is driven by the specific applications for which they are targeted. Although the volumes of high-performance films are small when compared to those of commodity films, the dollar value of this market is disproportionately high. High-performance films, since they are specialty items, can command prices several times higher than commodity films.”
He adds that markets for high-performance films “offer opportunities to create value and move discussions to topics beyond purchase price. Technology advances should help drive developments in major areas, including packaging, the largest end-use market. New and better barrier film structures made with high-performance films will extend product shelf life and improve appearance.”
Developments in this industry could have significant effects on our economy and help mitigate global warming by improving the performance of solar cells and fuel cells.
High-Performance Films: Global Marketsprovides an overview of the global markets for high-performance films. It includes analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, projections of CAGRs through 2019, and profiles of key companies in the industry.
Editors and reporters who wish to speak with the analyst should contact Steven Cumming at steven.cumming@bccresearch.com.
High-Performance Films: Global Markets( PLS076A )
Publish Date: Dec 2014
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