Growth in water and wastewater pipe demand will benefit from an improved housing outlook
and the continued need to upgrade and repair the aging US sewer and water pipe network.
US demand to approach
$18 billion in 2016
US demand for water and wastewater
pipe is expected to rise 8.2 percent per
year to $17.8 billion in 2016. Gains will
rebound strongly from declines experienced
during the 2006-2011 period,
during which pipe markets were negatively
impacted by the 2007-2009
recession. Going forward, rising demand
will be fueled by a more favorable
environment for public infrastructure
spending, as state and municipal
governments faced severe budgetary
constraints in 2011, which caused many
major projects to be delayed. Other
factors benefiting pipe demand through
2016 will include healthy increases in
building construction spending and the
continued need to upgrade and repair
the country’s aging sewer and water pipe
network.
Recovery expected in municipal,
housing markets
near term, recovery is expected in the
housing market by 2016. This will fuel
construction spending, benefiting pipe
demand as a matter of course. Also
boosting water pipe demand will be a
rebound in the size and number of
bathrooms per new housing unit to levels
common in the middle of the last decade.
During the 2007-2011 downturn in
housing construction, many builders
installed fewer and smaller bathrooms in
the new houses that were completed,
further restraining pipe demand.
Demand for pipe in the municipal market
will rebound due to improved government
spending on infrastructure projects.
As the economy recovers, water utility
suppliers will have additional revenue to
invest in pipe replacement. Despite this
improvement, the nation’s water infrastructure
is expected to remain in
disrepair. Legislators and pipe industry
participants hope to increase private
investment in public water infrastructure
via legislation that would lift limits on taxexempt
funding for water projects.
Plastic to grow fastest
among pipe materials
Plastic will be the fastest-growing pipe
material through 2016, continuing to take
market share from competing materials
in a range of markets. Rising demand for
plastic pipe will be driven by resin improvements
that enhance pipe performance
in more demanding environments,
while processing improvements will allow
plastic pipe to be more cost-effective
compared to other materials.
Polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) will remain the top resin
used in plastic pipe through 2016, due to
its dominant position in small-diameter
applications such as potable water distribution,
sanitary sewer and agricultural
markets. While PVC pipe demand declined
during the 2006-2011 period, the
expected recovery in building construction
activity will fuel gains through 2016.
High density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe,
however, has the best long-term growth
prospects among major plastic pipe
resins. HDPE will continue to gain
ground on concrete, steel, PVC and
other competing pipe materials.
Study Scope
This study analyzes the $11.9 billion US water and wastewater pipe industry, with forecasts for 2016 and 2021 by market (e.g., municipal, building construction), application (e.g., sewer and drain, potable water, irrigation) and product (e.g., plastic, concrete, ductile iron, steel, copper).
The study also considers market environment factors, details industry structure, evaluates company market share and profiles 45 industry players, including JM Eagle, Advanced Drainage Systems and Hanson Pipe & Precast.
