Demand for industrial nonwovens will see positive growth through to 2029, according to new data from Smithers, a leading consultancy for the paper, packaging and nonwovens industries.
In its latest market report, The Future of Industrial Nonwovens to 2029, Smithers, a leading market consultancy, tracks global demand for five nonwovens in 30 industrial end uses. Many of the most important industries – automotive, construction and geotextiles – have been dampened in previous years, first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by inflation, high oil prices and increased logistics costs. These issues are expected to ease during the forecast period. In this context, driving sales growth in each area of industrial nonwovens will present various challenges to the supply and demand of nonwovens, such as developing higher-performance, lighter-weight materials.
Smithers expects a general recovery in global nonwovens demand in 2024, reaching 7.41 million metric tons, mainly spunlace and drylaid nonwovens; the value of global nonwovens demand will reach $29.40 billion. At constant value and pricing, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is +8.2%, which will drive sales to $43.68 billion in 2029, with consumption increasing to 10.56 million tons in the same period.
In 2024, Asia will become the world’s largest consumer market for industrial nonwovens, with a market share of 45.7%, with North America (26.3%) and Europe (19%) in second and third place. This leading position will not change by 2029, and the market share of North America, Europe and South America will gradually be replaced by Asia.
1. Construction
The largest industry for industrial nonwovens is construction, accounting for 24.5% of demand by weight. This includes durable materials used in building construction, such as house wrapping, insulation and roofing substrates, as well as indoor carpets and other flooring.
The sector relies heavily on the performance of the construction market, but the residential construction market has slowed down due to global inflation and economic problems. But there is also a significant non-residential segment, including institutional and commercial buildings in the private and public sectors. At the same time, stimulus spending in the post-epidemic period is also driving the development of this market. This coincides with a return in consumer confidence, which means that residential construction will outperform nonresidential construction over the next five years.
Several pressing needs in modern home construction favor the wider use of nonwovens. The demand for energy-efficient buildings will boost sales of housewrap materials such as DuPont’s Tyvek and Berry’s Typar, as well as other spun- or wet-laid fiberglass insulation. Emerging markets are developing for the use of pulp-based airlaid as a low-cost, sustainable building insulation material.
Carpet and carpet padding will benefit from lower material costs for needle-punched substrates; but wet- and dry-laid pads for laminate flooring will see faster growth as modern interiors prefer the look of such flooring.
2. Geotextiles
Nonwoven geotextile sales are broadly tied to the broader construction market, but are also benefiting from public stimulus investments in infrastructure. These applications include agriculture, drainage, erosion control, and road and rail. Together, these applications account for 15.5% of industrial nonwovens consumption and are expected to exceed the market average over the next five years.
The main type of nonwovens used is needlepunch, but there are also polyester and polypropylene spunbond materials in the crop protection sector. Climate change and more unpredictable weather have put a focus on erosion control and efficient drainage, which is expected to increase the demand for heavy-duty needlepunch geotextile materials.
3. Filtration
Air and water filtration is the second largest end-use area for industrial nonwovens in 2024, accounting for 15.8% of the market. The industry has not seen a significant decline due to the epidemic. In fact, sales of air filtration media have surged as a means of controlling the spread of the virus; this positive impact will continue with increased investment in fine filter substrates and more frequent replacement. This will make the outlook for filtration media very positive over the next five years. The compound annual growth rate is expected to reach double digits, which will make filtration media the most profitable end-use application within a decade, surpassing construction nonwovens; although construction nonwovens will still be the largest application market in terms of volume.
Liquid filtration uses wet-laid and melt-blown substrates in finer hot and cooking oil filtration, milk filtration, pool and spa filtration, water filtration, and blood filtration; while spunbond is widely used as a support substrate for filtration or to filter coarse particles. An improvement in the global economy is expected to stimulate growth in the liquid filtration segment by 2029.
In addition, improved energy efficiency in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and stricter particulate emission regulations for factories will also drive the development of carded, wet-laid, and needle-punched air filtration technologies.
4. Automotive Manufacturing
The medium-term sales growth prospects for nonwovens in the automotive manufacturing industry are also positive, and although world car production fell sharply in early 2020, it is now approaching pre-pandemic levels again.
In modern cars, nonwovens are used in floors, fabrics, and headliners in the cabin, as well as in filtration systems and insulation. In 2024, these nonwovens will account for 13.7% of the total global tonnage of industrial nonwovens.
There is currently a strong drive to develop high-performance, lightweight substrates that can reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency. This is most beneficial in the booming electric vehicle market. With limited charging infrastructure in many regions, extending vehicle range has become a priority. At the same time, removing noisy internal combustion engines means an increased demand for sound insulation materials.
The transition to electric vehicles has also opened up a new market for specialty nonwovens in on-board power batteries. Nonwovens are one of the two safest options for lithium-ion battery separators. The most promising solution is ceramic-coated specialty wet-laid materials, but some manufacturers are also experimenting with coated spunbond and meltblown materials.