12.03.09
Consumption of Rad-Cure Products on the Rise
According to the consulting firm of Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, global consumption of radiation-cured products in 2005 was 270,000 metric tons, with a value of $2.75 billion. Included are products for inks, coatings and adhesives. The firm forecasts a 6 percent annual rate of growth through 2010. Europe and North America are maturing regions which together account for nearly two-thirds of the dollar value.
Asia is the second largest consuming region in volume behind Europe, and is also the runner-up in dollars behind North America. A 9 percent annual rate of growth is forecast for Asian consumption, led by the surge in China.
By 2010, the Asian region is projected to be the leading consumer in both volume and dollars.
Coatings is the largest outlet for radiation-cured products, representing approximately three-quarters of worldwide volume in 2005 and more than one-half of the dollars.
Wood (furniture and flooring) is the leading coating outlet in volume and dollars with Europe consuming approximately 40 percent of the volume. Paper overprints is the second largest coatings application with North America the leading outlet taking 40 percent of the tons. Optical fibers, CDs, PVC flooring, release and other plastic substrates are other leading coating outlets.
Inks consumed just fewer than 20 percent of the radcure tons but nearly 40 percent of the dollars. Offset and screen inks combined were more than 90 percent of the volume.
Radiation-cured inkjet inks were a miniscule portion of the weight, but 3 percent of the dollars. Inkjet inks are forecast to surge in usage in upcoming years.
Adhesives were 5 percent of the global volume and dollars. CDs and DVDs are leading consumers of radiation-cured products
Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney’s Radiation Cured Products, 2005-2010 market research study is available through subscription.
For more information contact the company by calling (973) 439-0030 or by e-mail: nerlfikng@cs.com.
Publishers Reporting Best Conditions Since 2000
The results of TrendWatch Graphic Arts’ (TWGA) summer 2006 Publishing survey are in, and the Business Conditions Index (BCI) for all publishing companies has risen slightly to 90.45 from 89.91 a year ago. This is the highest the Publishing BCI has been since winter 2000/2001.
This rise in the BCI was largely drive by catalog publishers and book publishers, who reported generally good business conditions in the past year. Magazine publishers were down a bit from a year earlier, but are still reporting generally good conditions. Catalog publishers have done a successful job of implementing a multichannel marketing approach, and magazine publishers are starting to reap rewards with a similar multi-pronged approach to publishing that balances print and non-print media. As a result, optimism is up, with more publishers expecting better business conditions next year than did a year ago. Still, top challenges remain print-based (the costs of paper, printing and postage) and top opportunities remain Internet-based. “Multi-channel marketing” is expected to be the rule rather than the exception in the coming year.
More info: TWGA, e-mail: info@trendwatchgraphicarts.com; web: www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com.