Resins: Raising expectations in the market

With strong demand from downstream markets, particularly from composite, automobile, aircraft/aerospace, and E&E markets, the resins market demonstrated steady growth in the last few years.

Resins are used to manufacture various sorts of polymers. Polymers are a highly diverse class of materials which are available in all fields of engineering from avionics through biomedical applications, drug delivery system, biosensor devices, tissue engineering, cosmetics and many more. Resin end products are used in many industries such as automotive, building and construction, packaging, and so on. However, automotive, electronics along with building and construction are the major industries which have occupied prominent share among all other applications. 

The applications of polymeric resins materials are still increasing rapidly due to their below average cost and ease of manufacture. High-quality polymer resins exhibit many unique properties which open up numerous technological opportunities in the fields of optics and electro optics. Continuous industrialization and growth in electronic as well as the construction sector across the globe has led to the increasing consumption of polymers. In 2017, Asia-Pacific accounted for nearly 44% of the overall resins market and this is anticipated to reach nearly 50% by 2025. The Asia-Pacific region, especially China, has been the pioneer in innovation, manufacture and export of a wide variety of resins. Following the rapid expansion of the Asian economy in the last decade, the demand for resins has risen sharply. 

As manufacturers are looking towards making lighter, less expensive components, while installing new electronics and their housings, there have been numerous innovations involving resins for automotive polymer parts and designs. Also, significant attention has been gained by nano-resins because of their possible demand in future electronic memory devices. Advancements in light weight parts will carry forward its ascending trend and influence product manufacturing in the future. Plastic resins and additives were the light at the dawn of the light weight part innovation and have assisted key industries like the automotive industry in a transition away from metal usage to plastic.

The growing demand for plastics propels the demand for resins. Rapid development in the automotive sector, which uses polymers as a solution for weight reduction. Along with that, the growth in the packaging industry which uses polymers packaging solutions for durability is another major factor driving the demand for resins. Lightweight materials are paramount in the construction of electric vehicles since they are helpful in increasing the range of the vehicle. By 2040, 55% of all new car sales and 33% of the global fleet will be electric. 

Resins are also a major component for coatings. The total global sales of resins for use in coatings systems are estimated to be USD 28 billion on roughly 15.2 million metric tons. Globally, acrylic resins are the most commonly-used binder in paint and coatings systems. This is particularly true for decorative paints, and includes all acrylics, both pure and modified, such as styrene-acrylics and vinyl-acrylics.

Acrylic systems, both solvent-borne and water-borne, comprise approximately 27% of total coatings binder demand. It should be no surprise then that acrylic resins tend to be the most susceptible to periodic disruptions in supply, accompanied by price fluctuations. 

Polyurethane coatings, either 1K, 2K (or occasionally 3K) are widely used in the automotive OEM, other transportation, automotive refinish, wood, industrial finishes, decorative coatings and even severe-service marine and high-performance industrial segments. Urethane resins currently comprise roughly 21% of the global demand for resins in coatings. Usage of polyurethane resins has been growing over the past several years due to their performance properties and their ability to be used in lower VOC formulations. In conclusion, growing industries such as adhesives, coatings and plastics will fuel the growth of the overall demand for resins.