Global Ceilings

Report Overview

Featuring 115 tables and 77 figures – now available in Excel and Powerpoint! Learn More

This study analyzes global ceiling demand by product and market. Demand is presented in US dollars.

Historical data are provided for 2010, 2015, and 2020, and forecasts are presented for 2025 and 2030.

Demand for ceilings is segmented into the following product types:

• ceiling tiles, which are also known as ceiling panels:
  • mineral fiber, including mineral wool and fiberglass
  • metal
  • wood, vinyl-faced gypsum, and other materials, including vinyl and polystyrene
• suspension systems (aluminum, steel, and other materials, including vinyl)
• specialty ceilings (baffles, clouds, stretch ceilings, and other specialty ceiling products, including ceiling islands, ceiling planks, and open cell ceilings)

The major ceiling markets analyzed are:

• residential buildings, which include:
  • single-family houses
  • multifamily structures (e.g., apartments)
  • manufactured housing
• nonresidential buildings, including:
  • offices, retail and wholesale, and lodging buildings
  • institutional buildings such as schools, healthcare facilities, and religious institutions
  • industrial buildings, predominately factories
  • transportation buildings
  • other commercial buildings such as civic centers and recreational facilities

Excluded from the scope of the study are:

• drywall (which itself is typically covered by paint, joint compound, or some form of spray coating)
• open plenum (open deck or exposed upper structure) surfaces
• return vents and other in-ceiling non-ceiling products (such as recessed lights)
• ceiling accessories (wires and attachments, moulding and trim, and all other accessories such as seismic braces)

Historical Trends

The ceilings market is cyclical due to its close relationship to building construction activity, especially new construction, which tends to be the most cyclical building sector. However, the renovation market is less volatile than the new construction market and this helps to moderate demand swings to some degree.

Overall ceiling product demand is heavily influenced by trends in nonresidential building construction, as this market accounted for over 90% of all global ceiling demand in value terms in 2020.

Other factors that impact demand for ceilings on a year-to-year basis include:

• building design trends, especially in the nonresidential sector where the look of ceilings is an important design component in markets such as restaurants and lodging establishments
• material prices
• residential renovation activity in the US and Western Europe, the two largest markets for ceiling products, which include high-value wood and metal

Regional Trends

Demand by Region

Global demand for ceiling products is forecast to rise 4.7% per year to $8.4 billion in 2025:

• The Asia/Pacific region is projected to be the fastest growing region, fueled by rapid advances in new nonresidential building construction in China, India, and Indonesia.
• Western Europe will remain the world’s largest ceiling product market in value terms through 2025, as the region is the most intensive user of specialty products and high-end metal tiles.
• Despite trailing Western Europe in value terms, North America is the largest market in area terms, a trend that is expected to continue, as the region has a massive renovation market and an increasing preference for ceiling systems with improved acoustics and aesthetics.

Products

Global demand for ceiling products is forecast to rise 4.7% annually to $8.4 billion in 2025, supported by:

• ongoing recognition of the importance of aesthetics and sound control, which boost installation of ceiling products in buildings that had no ceilings previously and encourage wider installation of higher value specialty ceilings and tiles
• rapid expansion in new nonresidential building construction in the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast regions, particularly in China, India, and Indonesia
• ongoing nonresidential renovation activity in the US and Western Europe, which particularly benefits both ceiling tiles and stretch ceilings, respectively
• replacement of ceiling tiles with higher quality products, such as high noise reduction coefficient (NRC) specialty ceilings
• rising demand for higher-priced suspension systems made of aluminum, which are better able to provide more modern aesthetic designs as well as to meet cleanroom standards
• increased awareness of specialty ceilings in middle- to high-income countries in the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast regions

Mineral fiber tiles, which are considered more aesthetically pleasing, will continue to account for a third all global ceiling product sales going forward.

Pricing Patterns

Through 2025, average prices for ceiling products worldwide are projected to advance 1.9% per year, due in part to increasing demand for higher value products:

• Ceiling tile price gains will be boosted by a shift toward products with higher performance ratings, such as fiberglass tiles, that command a higher average price than standard tiles made from mineral wool.
• Price growth for suspension systems and specialty products will be driven by increasing sales of high-performance suspension systems and ornate specialty ceilings, which are more expensive than standard products.

Ceiling product prices are also affected by changes in the cost of such raw materials as metals, mineral wool, wood, fiberglass, and plastics. Although increases in raw material prices are often passed along to consumers, ceiling manufacturers also work to reduce these costs through improved production technologies or low-cost material sourcing.

Through 2025, global demand for ceiling products is forecast to increase 4.7% annually to $8.4 billion. Going forward, market advances will be driven by:

• global design trends favoring enhanced acoustics and aesthetics in nonresidential buildings, resulting in a shift away from drywall and building plaster to ceiling tiles and specialty products
• rapid advances in new nonresidential building construction in China, India, and Indonesia
• rising nonresidential renovation activity in the US and Western Europe, particularly in office and institutional buildings
• increased market penetration of specialty products in all regions, including greater use of these products in conjunction with open plenum designs in retail buildings in the US
• rising use of decorative wood and metal ceiling tiles in residential renovation projects – on ceilings as well as on walls and other surfaces – in North America and Western Europe

However, the market will continue to be restrained by the popularity of drywall and building plaster in residential applications in most regions, as well as in many nonresidential applications in developing countries.

Asia/Pacific Region Drives Global Gains

The Asia/Pacific region will drive global demand for ceiling products, growing at an above average pace and accounting for 34% of gains through 2025. A large number of countries in the region are developing or upgrading infrastructure, leading to increased installation of both basic and specialty products:

• Shifts away from wet construction methods will benefit increased use of prefabricated products such as ceiling tiles, as will increased focus on improving acoustics and aesthetics in more industrial settings.
• Higher value specialty products are being increasingly adopted in higher income areas such as South Korea as well as in buildings that see much outside traffic, such as airports, metro and train stations, and public spaces in hotels and cultural buildings.

As the stock of buildings with installed ceilings increases, replacement demand will also grow, especially for products like ceiling tiles, which can be easily damaged.

Dominance of Nonresidential Market Exacerbates 2020 Pandemic-Related Declines

As the majority of ceiling products are installed in nonresidential buildings, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was hard on the market for ceilings, especially in the US. Social distancing and lockdown measures affected both where and how workers around the world went about their jobs, and it also changed supply and demand patterns, causing uncertainty in the financial situation of many business owners. Though price increases and expanding renovation activity in the US prevented further losses, the ceilings market is expanded to rebound strongly, especially in the Asia/Pacific region and Europe.