March 5, 2009 - World demand for pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA, self-adhesive) tapes is forecast to expand 5.0 percent per year through 2012, reaching 36 billion square meters, according to the industry research firm, The Freedonia Group.

In value terms, tape sales will rise a slower 3.3 percent annually to $30 billion, as raw material costs stabilize or decline following the 2004-2007 run-up. Projected growth in tape production will generate demand for around 3.2 million metric tons of raw materials in 2012, including adhesives and various backing substrates.

Corrugated carton sealing tapes will remain by far the most widely used tape type, accounting for over two-thirds of demand in 2012. Nevertheless, gains in this market will decline relative to the performance of the 2002-2007 period due to a deceleration in growth for global food and beverage shipping.

Masking tapes, the second largest product type, will register the slowest gains, with growth hindered by decelerating building construction spending and shifts toward less tape-intensive industrial coating technologies. Among the other tape types, the best opportunities exist for double-sided tapes, with medical and other specialty tapes also performing favorably.

PSA tape sales in China, India, and Eastern Europe will enjoy particularly favorable prospects through 2012. China is expected to expand its share of the world tape market from 24 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2012, with gains driven by strong (albeit decelerating) economic growth and the massive tape requirements of China’s vast and continually expanding export-oriented manufacturing complex.

The US accounts for 21 percent of global demand, although its share of the world market will continue to decline due to decelerating economic growth and mature key tape consuming industries in the country such as food and beverages, and building construction.

The same can be said for most other developed countries in Western Europe and the Asia/Pacific regions, where annual tape demand growth will significantly lag the global average through 2012.

These and other trends are presented in World Pressure Sensitive Tapes, a new study from The Freedonia Group (www.freedoniagroup.com).

SOURCE: The Freedonia Group, Inc.