New market study on fillers
Fillers do not only make numerous products cheaper, often, they also greatly improve the properties of the filled materials. The market research company Ceresana analyzes the complete market for fillers for the fifth time.
Worldwide demand for ground calcium carbonate (GCC), precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), kaolin, talc, carbon black, and other fillers will presumably amount to about 75 million tonnes in 2024. The market researchers of Ceresana expect revenues to increase by an average of 3.2% per year.
Regional Differences
In the study, the most important application areas are analyzed: paper, plastics, paints & varnishes, elastomers, adhesives & sealants, and more. There are significant differences between the sales markets for fillers in regard to the world regions: While application in the paper industry accounts for a market share of 31% in Western Europe, the share is below 19% in Asia. Vice versa, manufacturers of elastomer products in Asia hold shares of about 32% on the filler market – in Western Europe the share amounts to 22%. To emphasize these regional and country-specific differences, the demand for fillers in the application areas is analyzed in detail.
Highly Filled Materials
The most important sales market for fillers in 2016 was the segment elastomers. This application area accounted for about 28.0% of global total consumption. For the upcoming years, Ceresana expects further steady growth in this segment. Plastics are the second largest application area worldwide. The demand for fillers in this segment will presumably increase to about 22 million tonnes in 2024. New and more demanding applications for engineering plastics and compounds require fillers to possess properties of an ever higher quality. Automotive engineering, for example, systemically utilizes fillers to reduce the weight of the product and increase the stability of plastic products. Additionally, the production of highly filled compounds with properties tailored to meet the exact needs of individual customers is rising as well: These plastics contain up to 85% of fillers, possess excellent mechanical properties and are even more cost-effective than conventional materials in many cases.
GCC and Carbon Black Dominate the Market
With a market share of 34%, the most commonly used filler on the global market is ground calcium carbonate (GCC). Over the past eight years, global demand for GCC has increased by an average of 2.7% per year. Out of the total volume used worldwide in 2016, about 50% were used in Asia-Pacific. Until 2024, Ceresana forecasts an annual increase of GCC at rates of 2.5%. The largest consumer of GCC is the segment plastics, which is likely to increase its demand for fillers even further. The segment paints and varnishes ranked second, followed by paper.
Carbon Black is the second largest sales market with a demand of 11.7 million tonnes. The rubber industry is the most important application area for carbon black. It is used as a reinforcing filler, since it significantly increases the abrasion resistance of tire-rubber.
Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) is the third largest sales market. Many properties of PCC are identical to those of GCC. PCC is most frequently used in the production of paper, followed by the use in paints and varnishes.
The study is available at Ceresana's website.
