According to a new report released by First Research, the U.S. paint and coatings manufacturing industry includes about 1,100 companies with combined annual sales of $20 billion. Large companies include Benjamin Moore, RPM International, Sherwin-Williams, Valspar, and divisions of DuPont and PPG. The industry is highly concentrated where the largest 50 companies account for about 80 percent of revenue.

The global coatings industry currently generates about $90 billion in annual revenue. By 2015, the global coatings market is expected to be valued at nearly $100 billion, according to Global Industry Analysts (GIA). The top paint and coating producing countries include the United States, China, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. Outside the United States, major companies include AkzoNobel (the Netherlands), Nippon Paint (Japan), Hempel A/S (Denmark), and the coatings operations of BASF (Germany).

Demand is driven by industrial production and the housing market. The profitability of individual companies depends on technological expertise and efficient production. Small companies can compete successfully with large ones because of the large number of paints and coatings used for a wide variety of applications, including decoration, water resistance and corrosion resistance.

Imports, which come largely from Canada and Germany, represent about five percent of the United States paint and coatings market. Exports, which account for about 10 percent of U.S. production, go mainly to Canada and Mexico.