World Demand for Flat Glass to Reach $102 Billion in 2018

The pace of gains will accelerate relative to the 2008-2013 period, with the largest improvements expected in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America.   In particular, rebounds in building construction activity in many countries in these regions will support rising demand for flat glass in architectural applications. However, according to analyst Elliott Woo, “The fastest gains are expected in developing countries, and China is expected to continue to be the world’s fastest growing market for flat glass through 2018.” The architectural market will remain the largest source of demand for flat glass in 2018, comprising 42 percent of the total in value terms. But the fastest growth will be in other markets, driven by rising manufacture of higher value products like electronic displays.  These and other trends are presented in World Flat Glass, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.



The Asia/Pacific region is by far the largest regional market for flat glass, accounting for 52 percent of global demand in value terms in 2013.  The region is also expected to see the fastest gains through 2018, benefiting from the presence of five of the six fastest growing national markets for flat glass worldwide:  China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.  Within the Asia/Pacific region, China is the dominant flat glass consumer, representing 58 percent of the regional total on a value basis.



North America and Europe will continue to trail the global average in flat glass demand through 2018, although recovery from the recessionary conditions of the 2008-2013 period will lead to stronger performances going forward.  Demand in Eastern Europe will outpace that in Western Europe, thanks largely to a pronounced acceleration in motor vehicle production.  Gains in demand for flat glass in North America and Europe will be constrained by the shifting dynamics of global manufacturing, as producers of a wide variety of glass-consuming products are expected to site more operations in developing regions.  Thus, increased manufacturing output and investment in commercial facilities will allow demand for flat glass in Central and South America and the Africa/Mideast region to grow faster than in North America and Europe through 2018.





© 2014 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.



World Flat Glass (published 11/2014, 400 pages) is available for $6500 from The Freedonia Group, Inc.  For further details or to arrange an interview with the analyst, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone 440.684.9600 or e-mail pr@freedoniagroup.com. Information may also be obtained through www.freedoniagroup.com.



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