Plastic Pigment Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Plastic Pigment Market Overview 

The Plastic Pigment Market size is estimated to reach US$18.6 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of around 8.6% from 2022 to 2027. The Plastic pigment market consists of plastic pigments which are insoluble particles that give a specific color to plastic. These pigments are either organic or inorganic. Organic pigments are hard to disperse as they form clumps of pigment particles thereby causing spots in the final product, while inorganic pigments like carbon black, chromium oxide pigment and sulfides get dispersed easily in resin. Titanium Dioxide is a widely used inorganic pigment. The colorant solution has various advantages such as they provide thermal stability and being long-lasting. The increasing demand for organic pigment in the cosmetic sector, colorant solutions in the construction sector, and automotive paints in the automotive sector are acting as drivers for the plastic pigment industry.

COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 pandemic has affected various industries globally. Various measures were taken by countries across the globe, from permanent lockdown to other restrictions. The construction sector took a massive hit, as all types of construction activities were banned keeping in mind public health safety. As per International Construction and Infrastructure Surveys, the construction and infrastructure activities across all regions went down in Q1 of 2020. In the Asia Pacific region, China saw the sharpest workload contraction, in the North America region, U.S and UK saw the sharpest downturn. Disruption in the global supply chain reduced demand from end-user industries like textile, paints, and coatings, plastics, and others had a negative impact on plastic pigments demand. The automotive sector also took a massive hit due to the pandemic, for instance as per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), the total global production of vehicles in 2019 was 46 million which went down to 31.2 million in 2020. Lower production volume and lack of raw material had resulted in low demand and consumption of plastic pigment, to an extent.

Report Coverage

The report: “Plastic Pigment Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segment of the Plastic Pigment Market.

By Product – Organic Pigment (Alizarin, Azo Pigments, Others), Inorganic Pigment (Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide Pigment, Chromium Oxide Pigment, Cadmium Pigment, Carbon Black Pigment, Metallic Pigment, Others).
By Colorant Type – White, Yellow, Red, Green, Others.
By Application – Painting & Coating (Automotive Paints, Flooring, Others), Printing Ink, Consumer Electronic (Body Parts, Accessories, Others), Cosmetics, Others.
By End-User-Industry – Building & Construction (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), Automotive (Passenger Cars, Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles, others), Textile (Woven, Non-Woven), Packaging (Flexible Packaging, Corrugated Packaging), Paper (Laminate, Decorative), Plastic & Polymer (Pipes, Profile, Vinyl Siding, others).
By Geography – North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East, Africa).

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the plastic pigment market, owing to the number of end-use industries in the region. China is the largest market of plastic pigment in the region in terms of volume due to the high demand for the plastic pigment in the plastic industry there.
• Pigments tonality with plastic depends on the following factors like the origin of pigment, the shade of pigment, compatibility of material to be colored in pigment, and food purpose of the plastic
• High demand for high-performance pigment from end-use industries like packaging, automotive, construction, and technological advancements are creating growth opportunities for the plastic pigment market

Figure: Asia-Pacific Plastic Pigment Market Revenue, 2021-2027

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Plastic Pigment Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

Organic pigment is the fastest-growing segment in the plastic pigment market in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9% during the assessment period. Manufacturers, to minimize pollution, are focusing to produce a more environmentally friendly product. Case in point, Clariant is developing innovative colorants which do not affect biodegradation and composability. Besides that cosmetic industry is also a major user of organic pigments and with an increase in demand for cosmetics and other personal care products, the organic pigments demand tends to increase in coming years. From August 2020 Goop Inc. is involved in developing non-toxic make-up by using plant pigment and minerals. The technological advancements further drive the product demand for organic pigment. In 2019 DCC Lansco announced that it will establish its organic pigment production plant in Canada which will use state-of-art technology which is highly efficient in the use of electricity, water, and manpower.

Plastic Pigment Market Segment Analysis – By Colorant Type

The white color segment held the largest share in colorant type in 2021 and is expected to grow at CAGR around 7% in the forecast period 202-2027. The white color comes from titanium dioxide. It is most commonly used in paints and coatings. Colorants do not only add color to a product but also add functionality to them. Apart from that due to its non-toxic nature and UV absorption properties, titanium dioxide is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals. According to the Food & Drug Administration U.S, titanium dioxide has been an approved pharmaceutical additive, and also it is an active ingredient in sunscreen lotion which protects the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. The pigment is been included under the Inactive Ingredients Guide of the U.S FDA. Besides white color provided by titanium dioxide, other inorganic pigments are also used to provide shades of a different color for cosmetics, like Chromium dioxide gives green colored cosmetics, iron oxide gives shades of red, yellow, black, Manganese violet is used in hair care product and ferric ferrocyanide gives dark blue colored eyed shadows.

Plastic Pigment Market Segment Analysis – By Application

The paint & coating segment was the major utilizers of plastic pigments in 2021 with a share of over 35%. Paints & coating has various industrial application like in Packaging, building & construction, automotive and consumer goods. Automotive sector is a major consumer of paint & coating as the application of paint & coating protects vehicles from sunlight, corrosion, acid rain, hot-cold shock, Ultraviolet radiations, and blowing sand. The increase in vehicle production in countries like China, India, Japan, Korea etc. will increase the demand for paint & coating in automotive sector thereby creating a major traction for the plastic pigment market in the automotive sector. For instance, as per India Brand Equity Foundation, domestic automobile production increased at CAGR of 2.36% between FY16-20 with 26.36 million produced in FY20, and total passenger production reached 22.6 million in FY21. As per 2021 report of European Automobile Manufactures Association on global vehicle production, out of 74 million vehicles manufactured worldwide China had maximum share of 32% followed by Europe 23% and Japan & Korea 16%. 

Plastic Pigment Market Segment Analysis – By End User Industry

The building & construction segment held the largest share of the plastic pigment market in 2021 with a share of over 30%. Plastic Pigments are used in components like window profiles, roofs, doors, and fences, etc. in the construction and renovation sector. A survey done by the Association of Professional Builders (APB) across the U.S, Canada, Australia, New Zealand over 1000 residential building companies showed that 2020 was a booming year for residential construction and renovation as 46.5% of respondents worldwide signed more contracts than in 2019. In the automobile industry besides being used for automobile interiors, the plastic pigments are also used for the exteriors like bumpers and containers of automobiles which uses carbon black pigment as it provides weather resistance to them i.e., resistance to change in temperature, rain, and wind. Post pandemic the automobile industry has shown steady growth. For instance, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), the number of vehicles produced from January to June in 2020 stood at 31.22 million whereas the number of vehicles produced during the same period in 2021 is 40.34 million. As the production of automotive picks up, the demand for plastic pigment is also expected to rise.

Plastic Pigment Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

Asia-Pacific region held the largest share of over 35% in the plastic pigment market in 2021. As there are several end-use industries in the region, but the main industries comprises of construction, automotive and packaging, etc. According to Asian Development Bank, Asia Pacific economies like China, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan is expected to rebound from the pandemic and grow by 7.3% in 2021. The demand for construction activities has also increased in China and India, with China increasing its capacity of building affordable houses and is planning to invest 1.43 trillion dollars in the next six years. Major construction and infrastructure projects like intercity transportation, data centers, industrial internet, 5G network will be undertaken. India is focusing on its infrastructure sector and undertaking initiatives like “Housing for All” in which affordable houses will be provided to urban poor with a target of building 20 million affordable houses, and the “Smart Cities” mission in which 100 cities will be selected and turned into smart cities to achieve rapid urbanization. All these construction activities will raise paint and coating demand thereby increasing the demand for plastic pigments.

Plastic Pigment Market Drivers

Increase in Demand from Paints & Coating Segment

In paints & coating production, pigments are majorly used as they provide improvement in their coating performance. Construction and infrastructure activities in Asia-Pacific are increasing, and the major consumption of pigment is done by architectural and decorative coatings. As per National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, the construction sector in India will grow the third largest globally by 2025, and construction output will grow on an average of 7.1% each year, and infrastructure activities stood at $24.72 between April 2000 and March 2021. The use of pigments in construction components helps them to withstand extreme weather conditions. Hence the rising construction activities and favorable government measures increase the demand for paint and coatings thereby acting as a driver for the plastic pigment market. 

Adoption of New Technologies by manufacturers

Usage of new technologies in the plastic pigment industry enables manufacturers to enhance the properties of applications, for instance, the new ultra-thin-pigment technology provides new color shades like GoldenShine, GoldenWhite, CopperGlow by mixing copper, gold, and silver, hence it gives color saturation to application. These shades can now be imitated in coatings, printing ink, plastics. Also, keeping in mind, environmental safety, technologies that spread less pollution are being used. For instance, in the U.S The Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollution (NESHAP) laid guidelines to govern the use of VOC, due to these the manufacturers of automotive paint are shifting their technologies from solvent-borne technology to waterborne and powder coating technology. These technologies emit low VOC emissions as compared to solvent-borne technology.

Plastic Pigment Market Challenges

Stringent Regulations on VOC Emissions

VOC emission arises from the production of plastic pigments causes health problems like eyes, nose, throat infection, damage to liver, kidney, lungs, headache, and nausea. To reduce the emissions and pollution caused by pigments production, certain regulations are established. For instance, Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations of US, EPA deals with EPA’s mission of protecting human health and environment, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation in European countries. Such regulations have made manufacturers in some segments of the plastic pigments industry, like in automotive paints to show certain developments in their paint products to meet environmental regulation. Also, new trends show high demand for e-vehicles which has made e vehicle manufacturers use paint coating that is more durable and lightweight. This has increased their production cost 

Shortage of Raw Material

Due to lockdown imposed by the countries globally, the global supply chain of raw materials was disrupted due to which their price was increased, for instance, iron ore from which iron oxide pigments is obtained, due to shortage of supply its price was increased up to $200/ metric ton in 2021 in China and Singapore due to which construction industry there, halted its activities due to shortage of raw material. In Brazil, the price of iron ore increased up to 18% in 2020 due to COVID. A survey done by Construction Industry Federation (CIF) showed that 80% of builders believed that there was an increase in steel price. Turner & Townsend reported that material price will grow by 7% and labor cost by 4% in the next 12 months. Hence all this led to a decrease in demand for the plastic pigment to an extent as in the construction sector they were majorly used for decorative coatings 

Plastic Pigment Market Landscape

In the Plastic Pigment Industry to meet the growing demand from emerging economies, the companies are enhancing their regional presence by using investments and expansion as a key growth strategy. Some of the major players in this market are

1. Ferro Corporation
2. DIC Corporation
3. LANXESS
4. Tronox
5. Heubach
6. Clariant
7. KRONOS Worldwide Inc.
8. The Chemours Company
9. Venator Material PLC
10. ALTANA AG

Recent Developments

• In June 2021, DIC Corporations acquired BASF’s global pigments division called BASF Colors & Effects. This acquisition will combine the portfolios of technology, manufacturing assets, supply chain, customer services, and products of the two organizations, which will help them to serve their international clients. 
• Sun Chemical, a subsidiary of DIC Corporation in 2021 announced the launch of two new cosmetic pigments that would be based on an innovative patent-pending process. The two new pigments are Reflecks MD Midnight Cherry & Refleck MD Midnight Sapphire. The two pigments are based on calcium sodium borosilicate and use innovative multilayer technology that gives intense trauma, sparkle, and color travel.

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