Wood Preservatives in the US by Product, Application, and Market

Report Overview

AWPA Standards Revision Drives Growth in Wood Preservative Market

US demand for wood preservatives is forecast to rise 6.6 percent to $860 million in 2020. Gains will be fueled by changes in use patterns following the latest revision of American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) standards. A healthy outlook for residential building construction and nonbuilding construction will boost demand. Trends in railway freight and railway tie production will have the effect of slowing demand growth.

Key Findings in the Wood Preservatives Study:

New AWPA Standards Language Leads to Rise in Preservative Demand

The American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) introduced new language into the 2016 Book of Standards that preserved wood products used in some applications near to the ground but not in contact with it, such as decking joists and beams, may need to be treated to ground-contact standards. The change in language has led retailers to stock more ground-contact-grade wood and less above-ground-grade wood, contributing to strong overall growth in preservative demand in the forecast period. Micronized copper azole will see the fastest growth, and growth in demand for copper-based preservatives in general will outpace that for non-copper-based preservatives.

Preservative Demand Supported by Residential Building, Nonbuilding Construction

Demand for wood preservatives will benefit from an improving economy and rising expenditures in all construction markets. Residential and nonresidential building construction markets will see the fastest growth, fueling gains in preservative demand in applications like decking, landscaping, framing lumber, fire protection, and field treatment. The nonbuilding construction market will see healthy growth and will contribute to rising demand in applications like decking, utility poles, and marine piling.

Railway Industry Trends Hinder Growth for Wood Preservatives

Wood preservative demand will be restricted from further growth by its dependence on the railway industry. Railway tie production is expected to decline, depressing demand for the preservatives used to treat them, particularly creosote. This decline will be counteracted by the increasingly common practice of dual treatment, which adds to the preservative volume applied to each tie, and which will support growth among borates in particular. The overall impact will be slow growth in preservative demand.

Study Coverage

This Freedonia industry study analyzes the $625 million US wood preservative industry. It presents historical demand data (2005, 2010, and 2015) and forecasts (2020 and 2025) by product (micronized copper azole, chromated copper arsenate, creosote, borates, pentachlorophenol, and others), application (decking, railway products, utility products, and marine piling), and market (residential building construction, nonresidential building construction, and nonbuilding construction). The study also evaluates company market share and competitive analysis on industry competitors including Huntsman Corporation, KMG Chemicals Incorporated, Koppers Holdings, Lonza Group, Nisus Corporation, Rio Tinto Group, and Stella-Jones Incorporated.