Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest and fastest-growing market of PU coating, which consumed nearly half of the total demand. China is the key consumers of PU coating in Asia-Pacific, while countries including Japan, South Korea and India have comparatively small consumption levels. According to "PU Coating Market by Type, End Industry & Geography – Trends & Forecasts to 2018”, a new study by research firm MarketsandMarkets, automotive & transportation and wood & furniture end industries segments are driving the demand for PU coating, which in turn is pushing the demand for PU coating within the region. The growing industrial expansions in the region have also led to increased consumption of PU coating.

 

The PU coating market is also up surging due to high penetration of water-borne PU coating and 1-K PU coating systems which have further helped the PU coating market to emerge in the region. Various innovations, developments, and expansions in different industries have in turn made the region a potential growth market for PU coating.

 

Waterborne PU coating: the fastest growing segment by type

 

Waterborne PU coatings use water as a base for the solvent, which makes them eco-friendly and easy to apply. Waterborne PU coating is consumed in all the end industries and for all the applications like metal coating, plastic coating, wood coating, fiber coating and others. Waterborne PU coating is the fastest growing PU coating with a CAGR of 7.4% to 2018.

 

The major growth driver for waterborne PU coating is its low VOC content which makes it a preferable coating material in various industries. The waterborne PU coating market has a wide scope for its expansion which in turn would help in increasing consumption of PU coating. Solventborne PU coating remains the dominant PU coating type and is expected to be the largest in coming future.

 

Automotive & transportation: the biggest end-user industry

 

An estimated annual consumption of 944.4 kilo tons in 2012 makes automotive & transportation industry a leading consumer of PU coating. PU coating owing to its properties like inertness to chemicals, resistance to heat, high dielectric strength, weather resistance, and others makes it a suitable coating material to be used for flooring & decking solutions, refinishes, as a basecoat, topcoat and so on which are used in automotive & transportation industry. PU coating is also used majorly in industries like wood & furniture, industrial, construction, electrical & electronics, and textile.