Global market for engineering plastics to reach US$90 billion by 2020

The global market for engineering plastics is expected to increase to approx. US$ 90 billion in 2020, according to the latest study by research group Ceresana.

Ceresana says that given their physical and chemical properties, many industrial, electrical, and electronic parts as well as everyday products are made from engineering plastics. Faced with an increasing demand for ever more efficient and lighter materials, this trend will continue to gather momentum.

 “On a global level, electrical and electronic applications as well as consumer goods are among the most important sales market for many engineering plastics. Almost 25 percent of global demand originates in each of these two sectors," explained Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana.

The study suggests the third largest market is the transportation sector, followed by construction. On a regional level, however, notable differences become apparent. In Western Europe, for example, transportation is the largest sales market. Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, mainly utilises engineering plastics in the production of consumer goods, processing almost 30 percent of regional demand in this sector.

Ceresana says individual products show distinct differences in regard to application areas. While Transportation accounts for 35 percent of polyamide (PA) consumption, household and consumer goods are the major application area for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

The full study is available from Ceresana’s website.