Pigments Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Pigments Market Overview

The pigment market size is estimated to reach US$24.3 billion by 2027 after growing at a CAGR of around 5.0% from 2022 to 2027. Pigments are finely ground natural or synthetic insoluble particles that when added to paints & coatings, plastics, and building materials, make them heat resistant, corrosion resistance and also resist ultraviolet radiation. The two main types of pigments are organic compounds which are usually carbon based and inorganic compounds which are usually metal-based titanium dioxide & iron oxide. These types have high industrial applications in sectors like automotive, construction, packaging, printing, etc. The drivers for the pigments market are growing demand for paints & coatings from end-user industries like construction, automotive, technological advancements in the pigment industry, increasing demand for organic compounds in the cosmetics sector. However, the stringent regulations imposed by government organizations such as the U.S Environment Protection Agency to restrict VOC emission during pigment manufacturing and the increasing price of raw materials due to shortage of supply has created challenges in the growth of the pigments industry.

COVID-19 Impact

The lockdown and other social restrictions imposed by the governments to stop the spreading of CIVID-19 disrupted various industrial activities such as construction activities were banned keeping in mind public health safety, the automotive factories and workshops were shut down due to shortage of labors and textile sector decreased the production of clothing & apparel which decreased the sales of clothing items as there were fewer options in the market. For instance, as per European Union reports the production and retail sales in Q3 of 2020 for EU countries dropped by 15% & 9.4% for clothing and 7% & 9.7% for textiles. In the International Construction and Infrastructure Surveys, the construction and infrastructure activities across all regions went down in Q1 of 2020 with China in the Asia-Pacific region having the sharpest workload contraction. Also, as per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), the total global production of vehicles in 2019 was 46 million which went down to 31.2 million in 2020. Hence as pigments have high applicability in such sectors, so decrease in productivity in such end-users negatively impacted the demand for a pigment in them.

Pigments Market Report Coverage

The report: “Pigments Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segment of the pigments industry.

By Product – Organic Compounds (Alizarin, Azo Pigments, Others), Inorganic Compounds (Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Chromium Pigments, Cadmium Pigments, Carbon Black Pigments, Metallic Pigments, Others), Specialty Pigments, Others.
By Application – Painting & Coating (Automotive Paints, Flooring, Construction coatings, Artificial Turf, Others), Printing Ink, Consumer Electronic (Electrical Bodies, Accessories, Others), Others (Cosmetics, Textiles).
By End-User-Industry – Building & Construction (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), Automotive (Passenger Cars, Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles, others), Textile (Woven, Non-Woven), Packaging (Flexible Packaging, Corrugated Packaging), Paper (Laminate, Decorative), Plastic & Polymer (Pipes, Profile, Vinyl Siding), Other.
By Geography – North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East and Africa).

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the pigments market, owing to the number of end-use industries like automotive, construction, textiles, etc. in countries like India, China, Japan with China being the largest consumer of paints. 
• Rapidly growing printing ink industry on account of growth in the e-commerce and package food business shall have a positive impact on the pigments market over the forecast periods
• Growing demand for a reliable commercial product such as 3D printing material and using advanced technologies such as digital pigment printing can act as a growth opportunity for the pigments industry

Figure: Asia-Pacific Pigments Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

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Pigments Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

Organic compound held the largest share in the pigments market in 2021, with a share of over 45%. This owns to factors like organic compounds are more environmentally friendly product and through good pigmentation processing, it provides bright color, good dispersion, and high tinting strength. These compounds due to low potential toxicity eliminate the risk of humans and the environment getting exposed to heavy metals, hence that’s why they are demanded more. Organic compounds have applicability in cosmetics, textiles, paints & coatings sectors and rapid development in such sectors has positively impacted the demand for such compounds. For instance, in 2020 Givaudan Active Beauty launched the new Red 1805 a natural makeup made from a red vegan pigment, and from August 2020 Goop is involved in developing non-toxic make-up by using plant pigment and minerals. Also, in 2019, Asian Paints launched Nilaya Natural paints which are made from soya bean, whey protein, and casein along with castor seeds, calcium carbonate, need oil and pigments. Hence such development and introduction of new products in the cosmetics and paints & coating sector will have a positive impact on the demand for organic compounds in them.

Pigments Market Segment Analysis – By Application

The paint & coating held the largest share in the pigments market in 2021 with a share of over 40%. This owns to factors like paints & coatings have high industrial application in sectors like automotive, aerospace, construction, printing, etc. Hence the increase in production volumes of such sectors has led to more usage of paints & coatings in them. For instance, as per China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, the paints and coating production in China in April 2021 was 27 million tons which were forty times more than the amount produced in 2002 showing a massive increase in production. The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, the global production volume of vehicles increased to 57 million in 2021 from 52 million in 2020, with Asia accounting for 50% of production. As per European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the production and registration of passenger cars in the EU increased by 53.4% in 2021. Also, in 2021, Boeing delivered 79 commercial aircraft in the second quarter compared to 20 deliveries in 2020, showing an increase of 79%. The pigments used in automotive paints protect vehicles from sunlight, corrosion, acid rain, ultraviolet radiations, etc. while organic high-performance pigments like cadmium used in aerospace coatings enable the aircraft to function in harsh weather environments. Hence the increase in productivity in these sectors will create more usage of paints & coating material thereby increasing the demand for pigments for use in them.

Pigments Market Segment Analysis – By End User Industry

The building & construction segment held the largest share in the pigment market in 2021 with a share of over 35%. This owns to high applicability of pigments in various components like window profiles, roofs, doors, fences, etc. in the construction and renovation sector. The growing construction activities and an increasing number of infrastructure projects have led to an increase in demand for pigments used in paints. For instance, as per the 2021 report of the U.S Census Bureau, construction activities in the U.S have steadily increased, with residential construction showing an increase of 4.1% in November, up by 1% from 2020 same month. In the December 2021 report of the European Union, building construction increased by 4.6% from last year and civil engineering by 3.3%. Moreover, Abu Dhabi’s government announced in 2020 an ambitious plan to procure over US$ 2.72 billion worth of infrastructure partnership projects. Hence such an increase in the construction and infrastructure development activities will lead to more usage pigments like iron oxide which is used to add color in paints and as a concrete ingredient.

Pigments Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

Asia-Pacific region held the largest share in the pigment market in 2021 with a share of over 40%. This owns to factors like the region having major end-users of pigments in countries like China, India, Japan, Bangladesh, etc. but the main industries comprise construction, automotive, textiles, etc. Hence the rapid development in such sectors has positively impacted the demand for pigments in them. For instance, as per the State Council for the People’s Republic of China, in July 2021 China has approved projects related to the development of affordable rental homes. In the 2021 report of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association on global vehicle production from 74 million units, China produced a maximum share of 32% while Japan & Korea produced 16%. Also, as per the 2021 report of the United States, Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) the major apparel sourcing destination in 2021 was Asia based led by China (93 %), Vietnam (87%), India (77%), and Bangladesh (73%). Hence the increase in productivity of such sectors will raise demand for pigments to be used in them, thereby positively impacting the growth of the pigments industry in Asia-Pacific.

Pigments Market Drivers

Increase in Demand for Paints & Coating

In paints & coating production, pigments are majorly used as they provide improvement in their coating performance and such solutions are used by various end-users like automotive, aerospace, construction, printing, textile globally. The increasing productivity of such a sector will create more usage of such high-performance paints and coating materials. For instance, in 2021 Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing launched the Salman City Expansion project in which 1382 apartments will be constructed by the second quarter of 2023. The November 2021 report of the Europe Automobile Manufacturer Association stated that new passenger car registration in the first ten months of 2021 increased up to 2.2% with an increase shown in European Union markets like Italy with 12.7%, Spain with 5.6%, and France with 3.1%. Also, Airbus increased the production of aircraft to 172 in the second quarter in 2021 compared to 72 in 2020, showing an increase of 54%. Hence, such rapid development in end-users will increase the demand for paints & coatings material in them, thereby positively impacting the demand for pigments for such paints and coats.

Technological Advancements in Pigment Manufacturing

The usage of new technologies in the pigment industry enables manufacturers to enhance the properties of applications, for instance, the new ultra-thin-pigment technology provides new color shades like GoldenShine, GoldenWhite, CopperGlow by mixing copper, gold, and silver, hence it gives color saturation to application. These shades can now be imitated in coatings, printing ink, plastics. Also, keeping in mind, environmental safety, technologies that spread less pollution are being used. For instance, in the U.S The Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollution (NESHAP) laid guidelines to govern the use of VOC, due to these the manufacturers of automotive paint are shifting their technologies from solvent-borne technology to waterborne and powder coating technology. These technologies emit low VOC emissions as compared to solvent-borne technology.

Pigments Market Challenges

Increasing Price of Raw Material

Due to lockdown imposed by the countries globally, the global supply chain of raw materials was disrupted due to which their price was increased, for instance, iron ore from which iron oxide pigments is obtained, due to shortage of supply its price was increased up to $200/ metric ton in 2021 in China and Singapore due to which construction industry there, halted its activities due to shortage of raw material. In Brazil, the price of iron ore increased up to 18% in 2020 due to COVID. A survey done by Construction Industry Federation (CIF) showed that 80% of builders believed that there was an increase in steel price. Turner & Townsend reported that material price will grow by 7% and labor cost by 4% in the next 12 months. Hence all this led to a decrease in demand for the plastic pigment to an extent as in the construction sector they were majorly used for decorative coatings

Pigments Industry Outlook

In the Pigments Industry to meet the growing demand from emerging economies, the companies are enhancing their regional presence by using investments and expansion as a key growth strategy. Pigments top 10 companies include:

1. Ferro Corporation
2. DIC Corporation
3. LANXESS
4. Tronox
5. Heubach
6. Clariant
7. KRONOS Worldwide Inc.
8. The Chemours Company
9. Venator Material PLC
10. ALTANA AG

Recent Developments

• In June 2021, DIC Corporations acquired BASF’s global pigments division called BASF Colors & Effects. This acquisition will combine the portfolios of technology, manufacturing assets, supply chain, customer services, and products of the two organizations, which will help them to serve their international clients. 
• In 2021, Sun Chemical, a subsidiary of DIC Corporation, announced the launch of two new cosmetic pigments that would be based on an innovative patent-pending process. The two new pigments are Reflecks MD Midnight Cherry & Refleck MD Midnight Sapphire. The two pigments are based on calcium sodium borosilicate and use innovative multilayer technology that gives intense trauma, sparkle, and color travel.

Relevant Reports

Special Effect Pigments Market - Forecast (2022 - 2027)
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Inorganic Pigments Market - Forecast (2022 - 2027)
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