The value of the high-performance pigments market has been estimated to rise to $5.49 billion in the next five years.
Market research from rubber and plastics analyst Smithers Rapra has predicted that the market will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9 percent up to 2021.
The firm's study — The Future of High-Performance Pigments to 2021 — found that despite the strong move of pigment production to Asia, especially India and China, high-performance pigment production is still largely in the control of European, U.S. and Japanese companies.
Small and niche players are also focusing on increased usage of specialized pigments, such as thermochromic pigments and daylight fluorescent pigments. Current and future developments in nano-pigment technology, currently feeding the high end of the market (special effect pigments) can be expected to have an impact on uses of high-performance pigments.
Report author Trevor Sayer said: “Environmental issues will continue to be a hot-button issue for pigment suppliers. Without question the biggest challenge to the global pigment market will be stricter environmental regulation, especially related to water and industrial waste treatment.
“Company consolidation is another major trend. It is being driven by tighter regulatory and customer requirements, coupled with the highly competitive nature of the global pigment market.”
The global consumption of HPPs and SPs is estimated at 178,844 metric tons for 2016, a figure expected to climb to 206,921 tonnes by the end of 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 3 percent. The largest end-use sector is coatings. This will account for 111,584 tonnes by 2021 — 54 percent of the total market by volume — and have a global value of just under $3 billion.