Global Protective Coatings Market Shaped by Demand for Infrastructure Construction and Renovation

Protective coatings are coatings applied to various products to protect the latter from environmental degradation and, to some extent, physical damage. Protective coatings consist of substances that do not react readily to gases such as oxygen, water vapor, and other gases that can cause damage to the product, and liquids that can corrupt its structural integrity. Consumer products such as consumer electronics and cars are, naturally, among the major applications of protective coatings. However, the global protective coatings market also gains significant demand from the marine and oil and gas industries, in order to protect the heavy machinery used in the same.

According to Persistence Market Research, the global protective coatings market is expected to rise to valuation of US$13.8 bn by the end of 2016 and exhibit a robust 9% CAGR from 2016 to 2022. The market is expected to be valued at US$23.2 bn by 2022. The rapid rise of the aforementioned application industries of protective coatings is responsible for the steady growth expected of the global protective coatings market in the coming years.

Rising Infrastructure Development and Renovation Propel Demand from Protective Coatings Market

The usage of protective coatings in infrastructure and commercial construction has risen in the last few years, as the long-term economic benefits of using protective coatings have become a factor to consider in the construction industry. Infrastructure emerged as a dominant application segment of the protective coatings market in 2016, with a 22.2% revenue share. Currently, infrastructure development is booming in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and many countries in Eastern Europe. Along with the demand for new infrastructure in developing countries, the demand for upgradation and renovation of existing infrastructure has risen in developed regions. As a result, the global protective coatings market has received a major boost.

The positive effect of infrastructure development on the protective coatings market is expected to be observed in the coming years as well, with epoxy protective coatings – the most popular type of protective coatings in infrastructure projects – expected to exhibit a 9.4% CAGR from 2016 to 2022. The expected CAGR of the epoxy protective coatings segment is the highest of all resin types in the market.

Asia Pacific Emerges as Leading Regional Protective Coatings Market

The rapid development of infrastructure in Asia Pacific countries such as India and China has propelled the Asia Pacific protective coatings market massively in the last few years. The regional market is not only the largest regional market for protective coatings, but is also expected to exhibit the highest CAGR in the aforementioned forecast period – 11.8%. North America is expected to be the second largest regional market for protective coatings by 2022, thanks to the high demand for renovation of infrastructure.

The segment of waterborne coatings is expected to witness a major rise in demand in the coming years due to increasing regulatory support in developed regions such as North America. Conventional coatings contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are harmful for the environment as well as human health. As a result, waterborne protective coatings, which benefit from water being a poor solvent for organic compounds, are growing in demand. Waterborne coatings are expected to exhibit the highest CAGR of all coating technologies in the coming years.