Transformative Mega Trends Continue to Shape Pigment Preferences and Growth
This analysis indicates that the global pigments market is slated to register a moderate single-digit growth of about 2.8% in terms of volume over the 2020 to 2027 period.
The analysis of the pigments market aims at quantifying the consumption and analyzing the impact of key disruptive, transformative, and competitive trends across the value chain order to present a forecast for the seven year period of 2020 to 2027. The scope of the study comprises analysis of the pigments market on the basis of key pigment types and sub-types, applications, and geographies.
The study comprises analysis of the pigments market focusing on three key product segments, namely inorganic pigments, organic pigments, and effect pigments. It further quantifies the consumption of key sub-types within each of these product segments. Furthermore, the study also analyzes the individual pigment segments on the basis of key applications, such as paints & coatings, plastics, inks, building & construction materials, and paper, among others. It highlights the consumption of individual pigment types across five key regional segments namely North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC, and MEA. The study quantifies the consumption and provides the corresponding dollar value for individual segments and geographies for the period of 2017 to 2027.
The relatively mature pigments market has been witnessing a significant consolidation in the last five years. The market, characterized by a handful of global companies and a large number of small and mid-sized companies operating regionally, continues to witness a steady increase in competition and ensuing erosion in margins, rapid commoditization, and supply-demand imbalance. The trend is expected to continue driving a wave of consolidations in the industry over the medium term.
On the other hand, the ever-growing prominence of disruptive forces including the shift toward sustainability and circular economy, emergence of a plethora of transformative technologies, such as autonomous vehicle systems, and the ever-tightening regulatory scenario are expected to have wide-scale implications on the pigments market. The industry is increasingly witnessing a shift toward higher performance pigments as an alternative to traditionally used commoditized pigments owing to superior performance, improving usage economics, and more importantly due to the tightening regulations. Also, the growth in uptake of bio-based pigments, green certified pigments for compostable plastics, NIR (Near-Infrared) detectable pigments for autonomous driving systems, and NIR reflecting pigments for cool coatings, hybrid pigments, and alternatives to lead-chromates, among others are expected to assume higher significance over the medium term.
The increase in penetration of pigments due to replacement of dyes in digital printing inks with pigments, use of in-mold coloring, among others, coupled with increase in pigment loading due to growth in powder coatings, and construction materials, will enable incremental growth in demand. However, decrease in demand due to preference for easier to recycle transparent plastics, ink-free printing, and alternatives, is expected to weigh down on growth prospects.
