Global demand for school buses is projected to expand 3.6% annually to 66,800 units in 2023, slower than the 2013-2018 rate of increase and anticipated gains for the bus market overall. Weak school bus sales growth in the US and Canada – two of the world’s three largest school bus markets – will prevent the segment from registering stronger growth.

The Freedonia Group’s new Global Diesel Engine study finds that the motor vehicle market will remain the largest market for diesel engines in 2023, accounting for 61% of all diesel engine demand in that year. However, the prospects for the two major motor vehicle segments – light vehicles and medium and heavy vehicles – vary greatly.

According to Liquid Silicone Rubber, a new study from The Freedonia Group, the market for liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is on pace to increase 8.3% annually through 2023, propelled in part by an expanding range of products and applications.

According to Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, the legalization of marijuana in Canada and some US states constitutes a “new threat to China”, as he attributed, more permissive North American cannabis laws to an uptick in drug smuggling into China. Liu also asserted that the number of cannabis users in China had grown to 24,000 in 2018.

According to The Freedonia Group’s new Global Protective Packaging study, flexible protective packaging is expected to grow rapidly to $16.5 billion in 2023, increasing its share of the protective packaging market along the way.

According to Freedonia’s new Global Countertops study, demand for countertops is anticipated to reach 540 million square meters in 2023. While more basic materials such as solid surface and laminate are expected to remain the most widely installed countertops, higher-end materials such as granite and engineered quartz will continue to account for significant amount of demand.

According to Global Magnets, a new study from The Freedonia Group, hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs) will constitute the fastest growing segment of the nearly $3 billion global automotive magnets market through 2023 – and, in fact, the most robust growth market in the worldwide magnet industry overall.

A new Freedonia Group study covering the $28 billion US window and door market identifies smart glass as an opportunity for window manufacturers to increase the value and functionality of their products.

A recent Packaged Facts analysis of the global market for food e-commerce anticipates intense near-term growth – albeit from a small base – supported in part by packaging innovations that are making online grocery-shopping a more attractive option for retailers and consumers alike. Now available from the Freedonia Group, Food & Beverage Packaging Innovation leverages consumer survey data to identify and analyze the hottest trends in food e-commerce and other food and beverage markets for packaging.

Global electric and hybrid bus demand is forecast to increase 8.8% per annum to 114,200 units in 2023, registering faster growth than all other bus types. The popularity of electric and hybrid models will continue to grow due to their: • limited impact on the environment • greater fuel efficiency than conventional buses • lower fuel and maintenance costs • ability to operate more quietly than combustion engine-driven models