Growth in global geosynthetics market dominated by demand from Asia-Pacific, N America

The global Geosynthetics market is estimated to reach US$18 bln by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2013. The high demand of geosynthetics from the transport industry (road and railway), and containment sectors (waste management and water management) will boost future growth. The global geosynthetics market is currently dominated by high demand from Asia-Pacific and North America, driven by demand from the road industry and waste management sectors in these regions. In the coming years, demand from emerging countries is likely to increase on the account of rising awareness about the benefits of geosynthetics in civil constructions, as per Markets and Markets. Geosynthetics application in the transport sector has increased tremendously, as it increases the strength and stability of the underlying soil in roadway and railway tracks. Geosynthetics are largely manufactured from the polymeric materials, which retain their properties when exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Thus, geosynthetics demand in the environmental projects (safe disposal of general waste, hazardous waste, and industrial waste) will continue to grow from both developed and emerging markets.
The global geosynthetics market, by volume, is led by geotextiles, with a 67% share in 2012. The demands for the same are estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2013 to 2018. Geomembrane was the second largest geosynthetic type, both in terms of revenue and volume in 2012. Asia-Pacific has emerged the most dominant region, both in terms of volume and value, marginally ahead of North America, and followed by Europe and Rest of World. U.S. and China are likely to remain major markets for the geosynthetics, while developing economies such as India, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia etc. will fuel the future growth. The major players of geosynthetics include FiberWeb PLC (U.K.), Low & Bonar PLC (U.K.), Propex Global (U.S.), GSE Environmental (U.S.), and Agru America (U.S.).

As per Research and Markets, many countries are adopting geosynthetic products to construct road and bridges. Geosynthetics materials, especially geogrids and geotextiles, are used in road construction to increase the performance of the roads. Geogrids consists of polymers formed into rigid grid like configurations. They are used in sub-base layers of roads, to provide stiffness and strength. In addition, the development of wind energy projects has increased the demand for geosynthetic materials. According to the report, one of the major growth drivers in the market is the increasing demand for geosynthetic products and materials from the Construction industry, especially in the emerging nations. Emerging nations such as China, Brazil, and India are experiencing huge growth in the Construction industry and this in turn increase the demand for geosynthetic products in these countries. Further, the report states that one of the major challenges in the market is the lack of awareness of the benefits associated with using geosynthetic materials. Usage of geosynthetic products in many of the emerging nations is low compared to that in developed countries. This is due to the lack of awareness about the benefits of geosynthetic materials. One of the major benefits of the geosynthetic materials are that they are easy to install.

As per ASD Reports, geosynthetics are defined as polymeric materials used in engineering applications such as civil construction and environmental protection projects (such as landfill). The polymer materials used for this are generally polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester. Geosynthetic materials are available in various sizes, strengths, and textures. Based on physical characteristics and subsequent applications, they are further classified into geotextiles, geogrids, geomembranes, geonets, geofoams, geosynthetic clay liners, geopipes, etc. Though there are various types of geosynthetics available in the market, each one performs at-least one or more of the following six basic applications: separation, drainage, filtration, barrier, reinforcement, and protection. The global market for geosynthetic materials has grown significantly during the past few years and is expected to grow at a more rapid pace in the next five years, mainly driven by large scale capital projects undertaken by government bodies to improve civic facilities. Asia-Pacific emerged as the largest market of the geosynthetic materials, mostly driven by large investment in projects including building and maintaining transport infrastructure (road and railway), and waste management. China is the leading consumer of these products in the Asia-Pacific region, as it has promoted the use of geosynthetics in building large scale projects. Other Asia-Pacific countries such India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea are also investing in large scale infrastructure projects, construction projects, civil and environment-protection applications. This will boost the future growth of geosynthetic market as it is recommended as one of the best quality materials in the civil engineering projects. Demand from the developed regions, (especially USA) will remain healthy, on the back of rising consumption of geosynthetics in waste management.

TechNavio's analysts forecast the global geosynthetics market to grow at a CAGR of 8.68% over the period 2012-2016. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growth of the Construction industry in developing countries. The global geosynthetics market has also been witnessing the increased use of geosynthetics in road construction. However, the lack of awareness of the benefits of geosynthetics could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

As per Freedonia, global demand for geosynthetics is expected to rise nearly 9% pa to 5.3 bln square meters in 2017. Advances will benefit from improved spending on the construction of structures and roads. Additional growth will be driven by increased market penetration, stimulated by growing concerns regarding environmental protection and greater awareness of the performance advantages of these products in a variety of applications. Concerns about the leaching of hazardous material into soil and groundwater at landfill, mining, and oil and gas sites, as well as interest in limiting erosion and reducing roadway maintenance, will also promote geosynthetics use throughout the world. The construction market accounted for approximately one-third of worldwide geosynthetics sales in 2012. In addition to being the largest, this market is projected to register the fastest gains through 2017. Growth was aided by continued expansion in building construction activity worldwide and improved spending in developed areas as the global recession of 2009 and subsequent slow recovery limited the market in the 2007-2012 period. Use of geosynthetics will rise as a means of preventing sedimentary runoff from construction sites, as well as reducing the need for other erosion controls in a growing list of countries. The transportation infrastructure market will provide opportunities for a number of geosynthetics, benefiting from the maintenance of the existing extensive roadway networks in developed countries. Rising market penetration and the ongoing extension of paved roads and railways will boost sales in developing countries. Gains in the landfill market will benefit from a growing number of countries adopting modern landfill design and operations that typically incorporate geosynthetic liners and caps. Market advances in the large Asia-Pacific region will be propelled by the rapidly developing Chinese market, which will account for roughly three-fourths of the regional sales in 2017 and about half of additional global volume demand through 2017. China's vast stretches of available land, its ongoing development of large scale infrastructure projects, and its need for erosion control will provide opportunities for geosynthetics going forward. Similar to China, India is also expected to post double-digit growth through 2017, although from a much smaller base. However, in many of the least developed countries, growth for geosynthetics will be more limited due to inadequate funding, a lack of regulations that require their use, and the presence of lower-cost alternatives such as natural fiber geotextiles and rock. The US is the world's largest national geosynthetics market, accounting for over a fifth of worldwide demand in 2012. The enormity of the US market reflects the immense size and advanced nature of the country's economy. In addition to having a huge construction sector and an extensive transportation infrastructure, the US has relatively strict environmental control regulations regarding containment issues, all of which will continue to provide significant opportunities for geosynthetics through 2017. The study found the North American market for geosynthetics, with 28% of sales, ranked second in 2012; and the United States, with 23% of worldwide sales, was the largest national market. Factors such as the U.S.’s large construction sector and transportation infrastructure and relatively stringent environmental control regulations with regard to waste and chemical containment will continue to offer considerable opportunities for geosynthetics through 2017.