Global VAM market to reach US$9.8 bln by 2020

The global VAM market is expected to reach US$9.86 billion by 2020, according to a study by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing adhesive demand from key industries such as construction, automotive and furniture is expected to drive VAM market growth. Increasing paints & coatings demand, particularly in Asia Pacific and Latin America, is also expected to further impact market demand positively over the next six years. Stringent environmental regulations and volatile raw material prices are expected to remain key challenges for market participants over the forecast period. Increasing shale gas exploration in the U.S. is expected to benefit the market in terms of ethylene supply, which is a key VAM feedstock and is expected to benefit the market supply. Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) were the major application segments which together accounted for over 85% of total market volume in 2013. Some report highlights: Global VAM market demand was 5,886.4 kilo tons in 2013 and is expected to reach 7,934.2 kilo tons by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2014 to 2020. Increasing use of photovoltaic cells is expected to drive ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) demand which in turn is expected to have a positive impact on the global VAM market. VAM demand from EVA was valued USD 485.9 million in 2013. Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) is expected to register the highest growth rate over the forecast period owing to its increasing demand in packaging, polymer production and plastic bottling applications. VAM demand for EVOH is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 5.1% from 2014 to 2020. Asia Pacific was the largest consuming region and accounted for 47.1% of the total market volume in 2013. Increasing construction spending coupled with growing automotive production in emerging markets of China and India is expected to drive the regional market. Asia Pacific is also expected to witness the highest growth rate over the next five years. The region is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 4.7% from 2014 to 2020. Global VAM market is moderately concentrated with top four companies; Celanese Corp., Diaren Chemical Corp., Sinopec and LyondellBasell, accounting for just over 50% of the total market in 2013. Competition in the market is primarily characterized by pricing and service offering. Other major companies operating in the market include Dow Chemical Co., Kuraray, Sipchem, Ningxia Yinglite, Wacker Chemie, and Japan VAM & POVAL