Forecasts show that the global concrete fibers market will grow from its current market value of more than $1.5 billion to over $2.8 billion by 2025; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
Projections show that the concrete fibers market will grow substantially over the forecast period. This is due to the flourishing industrial and residential construction sector in Asia Pacific. Product is principally used to control cracking caused by plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage, making it resilient against cracks. Advancements in the industry such as development of concrete microfibers are able to render primary reinforcement which are capable to replace steel mesh.
Growing industrialization in Asia Pacific has resulted in inflow of large number of inhabitants from rural to industrialized urban, metro and megacities such as Seoul, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila, and Delhi. These factors led to growing demand for industrial and commercial infrastructure. According to the International Energy Agency, China is among the key cement producer which accounted for almost 60% of the global production in 2018. India follows and has constituted approximately 7% of the total cement production. Also, there is an expectation of continuous construction activity in the future. This will make positive impact on the concrete fibers market in the upcoming years.
High cost hinders growth
The main hindrance in the concrete fibers market growth is because of its high cost. Concrete fibers are high cost aggregates, which increases the overall cost of fiber reinforced concrete as compared to the conventionally used reinforced concrete (RCC). However, concrete fibers are likely to become affordable in the construction industry owing to its excellent features, which will generate ample opportunities for the market growth in the forecast timeframe.
In the products segment, synthetic and steel fibers captured the highest share in the overall business size in 2018. Projections show that the concrete fibers market in synthetic fibers segment will attain a share of over 65% of the total business size by 2025. These microfibers are expected to witness gains of more than 8.5% in the coming years, followed by steel fibers. Technological advancement in the steel fibers segment has led to development of rust resistant fibers. This has the potential for use as primary reinforcement. Therefore, they are replacing traditional steel rebar/mesh in the construction industry, which will subsequently drive the synthetic fibers demand over the forecast period.
Application segment
Among the application segment, projections show that the slab on grade application from concrete fibers market will occupy over 25% by 2025. This segment includes the industrial flooring operations where installers install the heavy machineries across heavy manufacturing industry. This includes automobile, textiles, aircrafts, fabrication, foundry, etc. Concrete fibers prevent the cracking of floors due to heavy machinery load. The precast application follows it. This is likely to grow at a rate of approximately 9% in the forthcoming years.
Among the end-uses, the concrete fibers market in industrial & commercial infrastructure segment is expected to take over a share more than 35% by 2025. It mainly includes, commercial and industrial structures such as hotels, airports, manufacturing facilities, offices, parking areas, malls, etc. Concrete fibers renders high flexibility and tensile strength to these structures. They do this while reducing the post crack cost by lowering the propensity of cracks in concrete matrix. It thereby leads to enhanced life for these structure, making it more economical in the longer run.
The Asia Pacific market
Asia Pacific market will account for over 25% of the total market size by 2025. It is mainly due to ongoing swift industrial development, coupled with robust population growth in the region. With advent of automation, electric vehicles and related technologies, the manufacturing sector is witnessing a disparity for suitable infrastructure. Rising need to develop infrastructure for the abovementioned industries will drive the concrete fibers market demand in the forecast timeframe.
The presence of various small, medium and large scale producers vastly fragments the overall business size. Some prominent industry participants in concrete fibers market are Sika Corporation, BASF and ABC polymer Bekaert SA. Others include Euclid Chemical, ABC Polymer Industries, Owens Corning, and numerous others.
