Global demand for cast polymers is forecast to increase 6.6 percent per year to 246 million square meters in 2019, with a value of $23.1 billion.  Despite a noticeable slowdown in its construction sector, China will continue to account for a large share of overall gains due to the massive size of its market. 

According to analyst Pamela Safarek, “Countertops are by far the largest application for cast polymers worldwide and China is not only the leading producer of countertops overall but also relies more heavily on solid surface materials for their construction – more than twice the global average.” 

Most use of cast polymers is in the construction market and strong gains in construction activity worldwide will drive similar advances in cast polymer usage.  Cast polymers continue to increase their market share in key applications such as countertops, sinks, and flooring, as increasing personal incomes worldwide provide consumers with the means to upgrade to higher priced surfacing materials such as solid surface and engineered stone. These and other trends are presented in World Solid Surface & Other Cast Polymers, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Solid surface accounted for 56 percent of global cast polymer sales in 2014, due in part to the heavy usage of this material in the Asia/Pacific region.  Solid surface accounts for well over half of all cast polymer sales in the Asia/Pacific region (compared to less than 40 percent in much of the rest of the world).  Engineered stone (e.g., quartz and marble) accounted for the second largest share of sales — roughly 30 percent in 2014 — and will also register the fastest gains of all cast polymers going forward. 

The Asia/Pacific region dominates cast polymer sales, with roughly 60 percent of total global demand in 2014 (up from 50 percent in 2009).  This is due not only to the presence of China, but also to strong markets in Japan and India and the presence of a number of low-cost manufacturing countries that can produce cast polymer products such as shower trays that are easily transported around the globe.  Advances for cast polymers in the Asia/Pacific region will be propelled by the continuing development of the Chinese market, which will account for over half of all additional world demand through 2019.  India is also expected to see strong gains as it continues to develop its housing and nonresidential sectors and increase its capacity for cast polymer products.