The Asia-Pacific economies are growing fast, boosting growth in the demand for many building and industrial materials, including paints and coatings. The total market for paints and coatings was 21.4 million tonnes in 2013, and is forecast by IRL to increase to 29.2 million tonnes by 2018; this is equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 6.4% in the medium term.

China is by far the largest national market for paints and coatings in the Asia-Pacific region, followed at some considerable distance by India and Japan. The smallest markets are those of New Zealand and Singapore. While medium-term growth is forecast to be low in the more developed and mature markets such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the developing market of India is predicted to demonstrate growth of over 10% per annum over the next five years.  India still offers significant potential for paints and coatings market growth, as per capita consumption remains very low.

The Chinese market is still offering good medium-term growth of around 6.5% per annum for paints and coatings suppliers, driven by growth in downstream industries such as automotive, construction, shipbuilding, petrochemicals and civil engineering. However, this forecast growth is lower than in previous years as the country is experiencing slower economic growth, caused by rising costs of labour, land and raw materials, and increasing taxes.

The third tier of growth markets comprises the South-East Asian economies of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. These countries are experiencing rising incomes, improving standards of living and increasing domestic demand, while labour and production costs remain relatively low.

Overall in Asia-Pacific, architectural coatings account for just less than 50% of the total paints and coatings market, although this figure varies considerably from country to country. India’s high share of the architectural segment, at over 80%, reflects the very underdeveloped nature of much of the country’s industrial infrastructure.

Protective coatings and general industrial coatings (including can and coil coatings) are the second and third largest end-use segments, respectively. New Zealand and Singapore are the only two countries with no consumption of automotive OEM coatings, since they do not possess any automotive production facilities. Australia’s consumption of automotive OEM coatings is expected to fall to zero by 2018 as the country loses its vehicle manufacturing capabilities.

The relative importance of the protective coatings segment is underpinned by the considerable activities in terms of oil and gas production, energy generation and mining that take place in many of the Asia-Pacific countries. Protective coatings have a particularly large share of the market in China due to the fast growth of sectors such as civil engineering, marine engineering and container manufacturing.

Marine coatings have a very high share of the national paints and coatings market in Singapore, reflecting that country’s importance as a regional hub for maritime transportation, and also in South Korea, which remains a key shipbuilding nation despite losing some business in recent years to China and other low-cost countries such as Indonesia.

Industrial wood coatings are an especially dominant end-use segment in Vietnam, thanks to the importance of the wood processing industry and the strong demand for Vietnamese-made furniture from export markets around the world.

Although the market for plastic coatings is relatively small in all countries covered in this report, it is of greater relative importance in Japan and Taiwan, since those countries are key manufacturers of electrical and electronic goods.

‘A Profile of the Asia-Pacific Paint Industry’ gives an insight into the market changes in the past few years, as well as outlining the key trends affecting the decorative and industrial coatings segments for each individual country covered. The scope of the study covers Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It provides 2013 market data on nine mainstream paints and coatings segments: architectural/decorative, industrial wood coatings, protective coatings, marine coatings, automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes, powder coatings, general industrial coatings and plastic coatings. Forecasts on these are also presented for the year 2018. The cost of the full report is €4,500 (four thousand five hundred Euros).

Sections of the report, priced individually, will soon be available to purchase online at www.informationresearch.co.uk.