Structural Adhesives Market Expected to Reach $27.9 Billion by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Structural Adhesives Market by Substrate, Product Type, Resin Type, and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030,"the global structural adhesives market was valued at $14.3 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $27.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2021 to 2030.

Structural adhesives are well known adhesives designed and formulated to meet engineering applications in sectors such as automotive, building & construction, aerospace, and electrical & electronics. These adhesives offer reliable and long lasting bonding where load bearing and structural conditions are essential.

Parts, materials, and engine parts that are used in aircraft require high-quality structural adhesives, which, in turn, ensure reliability and safety to airplane operators. The role of structural adhesives in aerospace manufacturing is gaining importance, owing to increasing adoption of composite materials. In addition, these adhesives are used in interior panels, flight control surfaces, and secondary assembly structures.

Addition of several additives is proven to enhance structural properties, such as viscosity, toughness, and other mechanical properties, of structural adhesives. Moreover, structural adhesives are capable of withstanding 6.9 MPa of force and use of structural adhesives for joining of rivets and joints enhances redundancy property. These factors are predicted to notably contribute toward the global structural adhesives market.

However, structural adhesives emit volatile organic compounds (VOC) during their manufacturing that can cause several health-related disorders. Increasing regulatory pressure and growing public awareness regarding health issues and adverse environmental effects have lowered the demand for VOC-containing products.

Furthermore, several regulatory bodies, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the European Union Legislation, have laid down norms and regulations to control the use of harmful or organic compounds in manufacturing structural adhesives. This factor is anticipated to hamper the structural adhesives market growth.

The growing focus on fuel economy has made automobile manufacturers produce lightweight vehicles. Different countries are planning to implement road usage fees based on the weight and emissions emitted by the vehicle. The use of structural adhesives for bonding various composite materials allows automobile manufacturers to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle by 5-10%. It also signifies the permanent and stable bonding of lightweight materials, thus increasing the overall bonding efficiency and effectiveness of conventionally joined structures. This factor is anticipated to create remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the pressure sensitive adhesives market in future.

The structural adhesives market is segmented on the basis of substrate, product type, resin type, application, and region.

By substrate, the market is segregated into metal, wood, composite, plastic, and others. The metal substrate type dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over one-third of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that use of structural adhesives for bonding of metal substrates has numerous benefits such as strength, durability, reduces surface preparation technique before bonding, and improves aesthetic look as there is no need for welds or rivets.

By product type, the global structural adhesives market is classified into solvent-based, water-based, and others. The water-based segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over half of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that properties, such as adhesion quality, wet tackiness, enhanced adhesion with painted metal surface, minimal time for drying, and low flammability, are the key factors that make water-based structural adhesives suitable for s variety of end-use industries.

By resin type, the global market is divided into epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, cyanoacrylate, and others. The epoxy segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over three-eighth of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that bonding of metal products and components requires high strength and lightweight structural adhesive. Epoxy-based structural adhesives are employed for such applications.

By application, the market is fragmented into automotive, building & construction, aerospace, electrical & electronics, energy, and others. The automotive application dominated the global market, with over one-third of the total share in 2020. This is attributed to the fact that structural adhesives are used in automotive applications, owing to flexibility and ability to offer enhanced performance in complex engineering designs. In addition, owing to its ability to accommodate thermal expansion and electrical conductivity, structural adhesives are proven to offer required performance in automotive applications.

Region-wise, the structural adhesives market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific structural adhesives market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period and accounted for major structural adhesives market share in 2020, owing to rising electronics and automotive sectors that have enhanced the demand for structural adhesives in the Asia-Pacific region. China's electronic sector is increasing rapidly, which has forced the structural adhesives manufacturers to produce high-quality structural adhesives in the region.

Key players operating in the global structural adhesives market include Ashland Global Holdings Inc., DuPont, H.B. Fuller, Henkel Ag & Co. KGAA, Huntsman Corporation (HUN), Lord Corporation, Scott Bader Co., Sika AG, The 3M Company, and Uniseal Inc.

COVID-19 analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and economies around the globe. The structural adhesives market has been negatively impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to its dependence on automotive, aerospace, energy, and other sectors. According to a report published by Wipro, the automotive industry witnessed 30% decline in sales in March 2020 as compared to March 2019, owing to lockdowns and shutdowns of auto plants. Several automotive companies have either shutdown or halted their operations due to the risk of infections among the workforce where structural adhesives are used as a prime bonding material for hoods, grills, interior panels, and other vehicle parts. This has temporarily hampered the demand for structural adhesives amid the COVID-19 period. In addition, the falling income of customers and international travel restrictions led to contraction of the demand for structural adhesives among the aerospace sector. For instance, according to a report published by Airlines for America, the commercial airline passenger volume in September 2020 was 68% less than September 2019, affecting long-term existential threat to manufacturers, the supply chain, and to the entire air travel industry. COVID-19 has put a temporary break on various aircraft manufacturing projects, which, in turn, decreased the demand for structural adhesives among the aerospace & aviation sectors. In addition, the structural adhesives market has witnessed a downfall in demand among construction sectors, owing to temporary halt in various building and construction projects amid the COVID-19 period.

Key findings of the study

• The composite substrate segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.6% from 2021 to 2030.
• The water-based product type is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.
• The acrylic segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.6% from 2021 to 2030.
• The aerospace application segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.6% from 2021 to 2030.
• Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 43.8% in 2020, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 7.8%