Market Trends of Pigments Industry
Increasing Demand from the Paints and Coatings Industry
- Pigments are insoluble particulate materials that are responsible for providing color, opacity, gloss control, rheological control, and certain other properties, such as corrosion inhibition to the paints and coatings.
- Pigments are considered an important constituent in paints and coatings as they impart color and also help in reducing the cost of coatings by acting as a volume filler.
- According to the World Paint and Coatings Industry Association (WPCIA), in the year 2022, with respect to revenue, the top 5 companies in the paints and coatings industry were The Sherwin-Williams Company, PPG Industries, AkzoNobel N.V., Nippon Paint and RPM International.
- According to the Statistisches Bundesamt, the industry revenue of the manufacture of paints, varnishes, and similar coatings, printing ink, and mastics in Germany is projected to reach around USD 12.94 billion by the year 2024, thereby likely to increase the consumption of pigments used in the paints and coatings sector.
- Moreover, in November 2022, The Sherwin-Williams Company held a ceremonial groundbreaking that marked the start of construction of an extension of its existing manufacturing facility in Statesville, North Carolina. This expansion is intended to significantly expand the annual manufacturing capacity for the company’s architectural paint and coatings products. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2024, thus increasing the demand for pigments used in paints and coatings.
- All the above factors are expected to impact market growth in the coming years significantly.
Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market
- Asia-Pacific dominated the market growth, considering the huge demand from various applications in countries like China, India, and others.
- China accounts for more than one-fourth of the global coatings market. According to the China National Coatings Industry Association, the industry has registered a growth of around 7% in recent years. According to European Coatings, nearly 10,000 coatings manufacturers are located in China.
- In July 2022, BASF Coatings expanded the production capacity of automotive refinish coatings at its coatings site in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, in South China. With the completion of the expansion, BASF’s annual production capacity of automotive refinish coatings increased to 30,000 metric tons.
- India’s production volume of dyes and pigments in India in the financial year of 2023 stood at 398,000 metric tons, almost a 22% increase from 2022’s production.
- According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the value of the print industry across India was estimated at around INR 250 billion (USD 3 Billion) in 2022. The demand for ink has been increasing in the country, which has led to several expansion projects. For instance -
- One of the leading manufacturers of printing inks DIC Corporation, in March 2022, inaugurated its new toluene-free plant Optima for liquid ink manufacturing at Saykha in Bharuch district, Gujarat. The plant covers 92,500 sq m, and in phase one, the plant has the capacity to manufacture over 10,000 tons of TF, KF/NTNK (toluene-free/ketone-free) liquid inks in two shifts. Such manufacturing facility expansions are anticipated to boost the market’s growth during the forecast period.
- Thus, all such expansion activities and suitable government measures are expected to boost the construction activities in the region, which is further projected to grow the demand for paint and coating, thereby increasing the demand for pigments.