Asia/Pacific News
Asia-Pacific Marine Coatings Market Growing
The Asia-Pacific marine coatings market will rise to $6.69 million in 2016 from $4.84 billion in 2012, while coatings that help reduce fuel use will become more popular, consulting company Frost & Sullivan predicts.
The firm says growth in the shipbuilding industries in South Korea, Japan, and China has followed a rise in the number of ships moving through global sea routes, and that, in turn, has increased the region's demand for marine coatings.
"The emergence of new coating technologies has further aided market development," said Frost & Sullivan Chemicals, Materials and Food Consultant Lim Jin Han.
"Foul-release and anti-fouling coatings, which prevent the build up of organic matter on ship hulls, improve fuel efficiency, and decrease emissions, are becoming popular."
Yet the firm also said the price of raw materials used in these coatings, particularly titanium dioxide, has risen, reducing manufacturers' profit margins.
The slowing economies of Europe and North America have reduced overall sea trade, but they have also increased outsourcing of shipbuilding to China and other low-cost countries, keeping the Asia-Pacific marine coatings industry relatively healthy compared with other parts of the world.
Frost & Sullivan predicts that the use of epoxy-based anticorrosive and acrylate antifouling coatings will grow, while foul release technologies will gradually gain popularity.
With fuel costs representing an increasing hardship for vessel operators, marine coatings are seen as a way to improve efficiency, including one that imitates shark skin and another that uses microscopic movements to "shake off" marine life.
