Global Brick & Tile Siding

Report Overview

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This study analyzes global demand for brick and tile siding:

• Brick is made from clay and shale and can be manufactured in many colors, shapes, and sizes. Brick is made from clays and shale and can be manufactured in many colors, shapes, and sizes. There are two main types of brick: standard and modular.
• Ceramic exterior wall tiles are manufactured using a mixture of clay, water, feldspar, talc, flint, and other minerals. These tiles generally come in three forms: glazed, unglazed, and mosaic.

Study Sources and Summary

Historical demand (2009, 2014, and 2019) and forecasts for 2024 and 2029 are provided for brick and tile siding by market. Siding demand is also provided on a country-by-country basis (in square meters), broken out by market. Demand in value terms is shown at the manufacturers’ level and excludes distributor and retailer markups.

The residential building and nonresidential building segments are analyzed at the global, regional, and country levels.

Primary loadbearing walls (of brick or stone) are excluded from the scope of this study. Secondary products such as soffit and trim are also excluded.

Data from the US Census Bureau were consulted in the preparation of this study, and a list of related codes is presented here for information purposes. However, these codes may not include all products covered in this report or may exclude some products of interest, and the data have thus been adjusted accordingly.

Global demand for brick and tile siding is forecast to rise 1.8% annually through 2024 to 1.9 billion square meters valued at $24.1 billion. Weakened global building construction activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic will cause demand to decline in 2020, but the market is expected to rebound by the end of 2021 as case numbers fall, economies reopen, and building activity returns to normal levels. Through 2024, gains will be supported by:

• brick and tile’s high durability, aesthetic appeal, availability throughout the world, especially in the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast regions
• rising new home construction, particularly in developing Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast countries where the share of homes built with siding is growing
• increasing personal incomes, which allow for greater spending on renovation projects such as siding replacement
• growth in nonresidential building construction, the post-pandemic recovery of which is expected to be healthy

Asia/Pacific Will Continue to Drive Global Brick & Tile Siding Market Gains

The Asia/Pacific region is expected to account for 71% of global brick and tile siding market gains through 2024, driven by:

• continued expansion in regional building construction, particularly in the nonresidential segment, where brick and tile hold a larger share of demand than in other regions
• their widespread availability in many countries, which supports their use in a variety of applications and gives them a high share of demand

However, faster advances will be restrained by weak homebuilding activity in China – by far the region’s largest market for brick and tile siding – as well as in Australia, Japan, and other developed countries in the region.

Weak New Housing Outlook in Mature Markets Will Restrain Global Market Growth

Because use of brick and stone is more concentrated in residential applications in the developed markets of Western Europe and North America, residential building construction in these regions are especially important to local brick and tile markets. Through 2024, weak homebuilding activity in the US and most major West European countries – including Germany, France, and the UK – will restrain faster growth for brick and tile siding.

Competitive Materials Continue to Put Pressure on the Market

Though trends can vary significantly by country, brick and tile will continue to face strong competition from lower cost siding materials, particularly fiber cement, which is also easier to install and can be made to mimic the appearance of brick and tile. Brick and tile also compete with other materials based on cost and aesthetics, such as:

• stucco, which is lower cost and more popular in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Italy due to strong aesthetic preferences for the material
• vinyl, which is also lower cost and extremely popular in the large US market but often considered less aesthetically appealing in other parts of the world