Technical Foam Market Outlook - 2020–2027
The global technical foam market size was valued at $31.3 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $50.7 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027.
Technical foam encompasses all the foam solutions developed for industrial and commercial applications. It includes the use of various rubber as well as polymer blends, developed to achieve application-oriented properties. Applications include sound insulation, filtering, cleaning, packaging, and sealing.
The global technical foam market is presently driven by continuous demand from the automotive and electronics industry. Expenditure on consumer electronics is anticipated to increase owing to rise in disposable income among people. This leads to the use of foam-based electronics packaging solutions for logistics. A similar demand is anticipated in other end-uses of technical foams such as the construction, medical, and sporting equipment segments. In the automotive industry, technical foams are widely used in reducing the weight of insulation, thereby improving fuel efficiency of the vehicle. In an electric vehicle, foam compression pads offer protection against shock and rattling in the battery components, ultimately providing a quieter ride for vehicle occupants. Therefore, as the automotive industry transitions toward e-mobility, the demand for foams is expected to increase and provide impetus to the global technical foam market during the forecast period. Polyurethane foams are used in the medical setting for applications such catheter and general purpose tubing, hospital bedding, surgical drapes, wound dressings, and short term implants. The demand for technical foams is likely to increase owing to the increase in expenditure on healthcare increases with countries focusing on primary healthcare services and homecare services, during the forecast period.
Polymers are the main raw materials of technical foams, and hence, growing concern from government regarding environmental issues from plastics negatively impact the global technical foam market growth. In addition, most of the polymers are derived from petroleum hydrocarbons. Hence, price fluctuations in the prices of crude oil directly affect the final price of technical foams, thus, forcing end users to opt for cheaper alternatives. For instance, for building insulation, other insulating materials include glass wool and mineral wool. Nonetheless, advancements of additive manufacturing for polyurethane foam allows the possibility of printing products in customized sizes and shapes for packaging applications; thus, further enhancing the market growth. Such new advancements create lucrative opportunities influencing the market growth. To reduce the dependency on crude oil-based technical foams, key players have shifted their focus toward developing bio-based foam solutions. Thus, production of bio-based polyols is touted as an emerging opportunity for the global technical foam market. Bio-based foams are produced from renewable resources. Woodbridge and Huntsman are two of the major players offering bio-based foams.
The technical foam market is segmented on the basis of product form, material, end-use industry, and region. By product form, the global technical foam market is classified into flexible, rigid, and sprays. By material, the technical foam market is divided into elastomeric, polyurethane, polyethylene, and others. The major end-use industries of technical foam market include automotive & transportation, electrical & electronics, building & construction, medical, sporting equipment, packaging, and others. By region, the market is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
Some of the major players profiled in the report include Armacell, BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Huntsman Corporation, Kaneka Corporation, Recticel, Rogers Corporation, SABIC, Sealed Air Corporation, Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd., Woodbridge Group, and Zotefoams Plc.
Global Technical Foam Market, By Region
Asia-Pacific accounted for highest revenue share in the global technical foam market. This is attributed to the massive demand of foams in construction and packaging industries. The emerging economies in Asia-Pacific are procuring various foreign equipment; thus, improving the production efficiency. In addition, industry players adopted various business expansion strategies, which further improved the overall production capacity in Asia-Pacific.
By Region
Asia-Pacific would exhibit highest CAGR of 6.6% during 2019-2027.
Global Technical Foam Market, By Product Form
Flexible foam held the largest market share in 2019. Flexible foam has an exhaustive application area that includes furniture, automotive interior, and packaging.
By Product Type
Spray technical foam is projected as the most lucrative segment.
Global Technical Foam Market, By Material
The polyurethane (PU) segment holds the largest market share in the global technical foam market, owing to the extensiveness of PU foam in various end-use industries such as automotive, electronics, and building & construction.
By Application
Elastomeric is projected as the most lucrative segment.
Global Technical Foam Market, By End-Use Industry
The automotive & transportation segment accounted for highest market growth. Rise in demand for light-weight and fuel efficient vehicles have led to increase in applications of technical foams in the automotive & transportation industry
By End-user Industry
Packaging is projected as the most lucrative segment.
COVID-19 Scenario Analysis:
- The global technical foam market has been severely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe.
- The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the electronics industry and the entire supply chain, creating shortage of raw material supply. China is a key country for the electronics industry, owing to the presence of almost all the major electronic OEMs and contract manufacturers. The abrupt shutdown of operations due to lockdown hampered the entire electronics ecosystem. Although the situation on the supply side has improved considerably since July, the demand side has shrunk in terms of sales of consumer electronics such as refrigerators and air conditioners.
- The decline in per capita income leads to lower demand for various electronics products and sports, and recreational equipment; thus, negatively impacting the market growth.
- Furthermore, due to extended lockdown, large number of construction projects are on hold or delayed for 6 months. Such changes negatively impacted the sales of insulation foams.
- Moreover, the upstream and downstream channel have been affected due to restrictions on movement, which lead to increasing the amount of inventories.
Key Benefits For Stakeholders
- The global technical foam market analysis covers in-depth information of major industry participants.
- Porter’s five forces analysis helps to analyze the potential of buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the industry for strategy building.
- Major countries have been mapped according to their individual revenue contribution to the regional market.
- The report provides an in-depth analysis of the global technical foam market forecast for the period 2020–2027.
- The report outlines the current technical foam market trends and future estimations of the market from 2019 to 2027 to understand the prevailing opportunities and potential investment pockets.
- The key drivers, restraints, and technical foam market opportunity and their detailed impact analysis is elucidated in the study.
Technical Foam Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Product Form |
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 By Material |
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 By End User Industry |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | Covestro AG, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Kaneka Corporation, Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd., Recticel, BASF SE, Sealed Air Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, SABIC, Zotefoams, Dow Inc., Armacell, Woodbridge Group, Rogers Corporation |
Analyst Review
According to the opinions of various CXOs of leading companies, the technical foam market is anticipated to maintain its growth curve during the forecast period. Technical foams can be produced by various polymer blends to offer various functions, mainly noise dampening, sealing, or packaging. This versatility in product offerings has enabled the global technical foam market to increase its market growth. In addition, factors such as expansion of electronics industry and increase in global automotive sales significantly contribute to the technical foam market growth. Foam-based packaging offers excellent vibration dampening qualities as well as protection against electrostatic discharge (ED) throughout the entire process.
The global technical foam market is segmented on the basis of product form, material, and end-use industries. Presently, the automotive & transportation segment holds the largest market share in the global technical foam market. The rise in demand for light-weight and fuel efficient vehicles have led to increase in applications of technical foams in the automotive & transportation industry.
Factors such as the growth of the automotive, healthcare, and construction markets to accommodate the increasing population are some of the key factors boosting the global technical foam market
The global technical foam market was valued at $31.3 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $50.7 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027.
The top companies in the global technical foam market are Armacell, BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Huntsman Corporation, Kaneka Corporation, Recticel, Rogers Corporation, SABIC, Sealed Air Corporation, Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd., Woodbridge Group, and Zotefoams Plc
The packaging segment is projected to increase the demand for technical foams during the forecast period
The Automotive & Transportation segment accounted for the largest technical foam market share
Current demand from the automotive, construction, and the medical sector are some of the main drivers of technical foam market
The use of foams in the pakaging segment is expected to drive the adoption of technical foams during the forecast period
The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the demand for foams from the automotive and construction sectors, as both of these sectors had to shutdown partially or completely.
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