Whether it is hot or cold, there is no such thing as bad weather for insulation manufacturers. However, they are being hampered by the weakening residential construction sector, especially the slump in the real estate industry in China. Ceresana’s latest insulation report expects new construction activity in most countries to start recovering by the end of 2024 at the earliest. However, the renovation of old buildings remains a promising construction site. For the fourth time, Ceresana has surveyed the global market for mineral, synthetic and natural insulation materials used in the construction industry – primarily for thermal insulation and soundproofing of buildings, including fire protection. Analysts forecast that global consumption of insulation materials will grow to a total of more than 640 million cubic meters by 2032.
Subsidies for energy refurbishment
Construction survived the Covid 19 crisis quite well compared to other industries; in fact, 2021 was a record year in many countries. Now, however, the mood is clearly deteriorating: a lack of labor and raw materials, rising energy and material costs, inflation and political uncertainty. One bright spot for construction companies in many places is the construction of warehouses and logistics centers for the booming online trade, not to mention data centers. Government subsidy programs for the energy-efficient refurbishment of private homes and public buildings are having a stabilizing effect. In the countries of the European Union, better thermal insulation is one of the focal points of the build-up and resilience plans for the „green transition“ by 2026. However, particularly sustainable organic insulating materials have not always been able to benefit from efforts to protect the climate and save energy: The use of straw, hemp, wool and other renewable insulating materials is often still hampered by outdated building regulations and standards.
Insulation with rigid foam boards and mineral wool
Rigid foams made of PUR (polyurethane) and PIR (polyisocyanurate) are growing rapidly, albeit inhibited by comparatively high prices. Expandable polystyrene (EPS, known as „Styrofoam“ or „airpop“) and extruded polystyrene (XPS), two likewise synthetic insulating materials based on petroleum, also achieve a large market share. However, more than half of the global demand for insulation materials is currently satisfied by mineral wool, i.e. glass wool and rock wool. Sand, stone, lime and various minerals are the raw materials for mineral wool. The technical properties of insulation materials may be the same everywhere – image, costs and customer preferences are not: As with the construction industry as a whole, there are major regional differences in the consumption of insulation materials. For example, enthusiasm for the renovation of old buildings is not the same everywhere.
Fourth edition of the Ceresana market study „Insulation Materials – World“:
Chapter 1 of the current edition of the Insulation Report provides a complete presentation and analysis of the global market for insulation materials, including forecasts up to 2032. For each region of the world, production and consumption of insulation materials are given in cubic meters and the sales generated with them in US dollars and euros. In Chapter 2, production, consumption, import, export, and insulation sales are given for each of 16 the countries that are particularly relevant to the insulation market. Consumption is differentiated for the five material types: EPS, XPS, PUR / PIR, Glass wool, Stone wool. In addition, the construction segments are distinguished: Residential construction, Commercial construction. The regional consumption of the various insulation types is recorded in detail in „1,000 tonnes“.
Chapter 3 offers company profiles of the world’s most important producers of insulating materials, clearly arranged according to contact data, sales, profit, product range, production sites, brief profile as well as product types and application areas. Detailed profiles are supplied by the main 113 manufacturers, e.g. Armstrong World Industries, Inc., BASF SE, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A., DuPont De Nemours, Inc., Owens Corning, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Styropek Group, and URSA Insulation, S.A.
Further information on the new market study „Insulation – World“: https://ceresana.com/en/produkt/insulation-material-market-report-world
About Ceresana
As one of the world’s leading market research institutes, Ceresana specializes in the chemicals, plastics, packaging, and industrial goods sectors. Special focus areas are bio-economy and automotive / mobility. Since 2002, companies have benefited from high-quality industry analyses and forecasts. Over 250 market studies provide more than 10,000 clients around the world with the knowledge base for sustainable success.
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