Market Trends of Europe Modified Bitumen Industry
Increasing Demand from Road Construction Activities
- Modified bitumen concrete mixture has been an important construction material for roads, airport runways, taxiways, bicycle paths, etc.
- Modifiers, such as binder modifiers and aggregate modifiers, are used to improve the performance of asphalt pavements, in terms of increased resistance to pavement distresses, such as thermal cracking, rutting, stripping, etc., thereby prolonging the service life.
- The demand for modified bitumen has been witnessing above-average growth. The demand for bitumen has a direct correlation with the level of ongoing road construction activities.
- Due to the rise in economic inactivity, labor shortages, and supply chain issues are below pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, it is anticipated that a decline in funding for road projects will impede market growth. For instance, public sector spending on roads in the United Kingdom was over GBP 12 Billion (USD 16397.1 Million) in 2021/22, a decrease of GBP 88 Million ( USD 120.24 Million) when compared with the previous year.
- Moreover, according to the Airport Construction and Investment Review Report 2022 by CAPA, there are 177 infrastructure projects at European airports, with a collective investment value of USD 109 billion as of March 2022. Therefore, this is expected to create an upside fpr modified bitumen market from runway constructions.
- All of the aforementioned factors are expected to drive demand for modified bitumen market over the forecast period.
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Germany to Dominate the Market in European Region
- Germany had the largest market for modified bitumen in Europe, which is expected to increase during the forecast period. Germany has the largest construction industry in Europe.
- Growing investments in infrastructural projects such as high-capacity transport infrastructure for passenger and freight transport, structural maintenance of the existing road, rail, and waterway networks, and revision in federal government energy policies to attract more private investment have increased the consumption of modified bitumen in recent years.
- Under the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (FTIP), the government has planned to invest EUR 260 billion between 2016 and 2030 in the high-capacity transport network of which the road mode accounts for 49.3 %, the rail mode accounts for 41.6 % and the waterway mode accounts for 9.1 % of funds. This planned investment in various infrastructural projects is estimated to increase the market for modified bitumen during the forecast period.
- In addition, growing need for structural maintenance of federal trunk road infrastructure due to growing stresses and strains and increasing age of the road and bridge fabric, increase in investment to upgrade existing rail network, and rising necessity to replace physical structures on the federal waterways is expected to increase the demand for modified bitumen.
- Moreover in 2022, the price for the construction of roads (Straßen) in Germany grew faster than that of any other type of infrastructure, the price index in 2022 rose to 145 for roads from 124.75 compared to previous year.
- Furthermore, the growth is supported by lower interest rates, increase in real disposable incomes, and numerous investments by the European Union and the German Government.
- All the factors are estimated to boost the demand for modified bitumen in the country during the forecast period.
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