Cleveland OH, January 20, 2022 – A new Freedonia Group analysis of the global adhesives and sealants finds that, while water-based products will remain the most used product in 2025 – accounting for nearly one-third of all demand – reactive and hot melt adhesives and sealants are expected to have some of the best opportunities:
- Gains for reactive products will be supported by solid growth in construction activity and motor vehicle production, markets where the superior performance properties of reactive products are preferred and sealing is becoming more important. Gains in motor vehicles in particular will benefit from a significant recovery in manufacturing from a low base during 2020 and 2021.
- Hot melt demand will be bolstered by the growing textile market, where they continue to replace conventional stitching in hems due to their rapid cure rates. Use of nonwoven products such as wipes and masks surged during 2020 and 2021, and these rates are expected to remain elevated. Additionally, the market for personal hygiene products is expanding in both developed countries with aging populations and in developing economies where personal incomes are rising.
Water-based products will remain popular due to their relatively low cost, ease of use, and low emissions, which make them more environmentally friendly than solvent-based products. While water-based products already tend to be favored in developed areas where consumers have concerns about contaminants and there are regulations in place monitoring their use, they are likely to gain ground in developing areas as consumers in those areas are also able to specify such products.
Global Adhesives & Sealants Market to Reach $81 Billion in 2025
The Freedonia Group projects global demand for adhesives and sealants to grow 3.4% per year to 24.7 million metric tons valued at $81.0 billion in 2025. Gains will be supported by:
- rising construction activity and infrastructure investment in developing countries, boosted in the short term by rebounds from losses seen during the COVID-19 pandemic
- an increase in manufacturing output, most notably of transportation equipment, and ongoing increases in manufacturing activity of consumer goods in emerging economies
- the continuing transition in manufacturing, assembly, and construction from mechanical fasteners to adhesive bonding
Want to Learn More?
Global Adhesives & Sealants, now available from the Freedonia Group, provides historical data (2010, 2015, and 2020) and forecasts for 2025 and 2030 for global adhesives and sealants demand in metric tons and current US dollars (including inflation) at the global, regional, and country levels. Demand is presented by market and product type.
Markets:
- construction
- packaging
- tapes and labels
- consumer goods
- transportation equipment
- textiles
- other markets (e.g., appliances, electrical and electronic product manufacturing, furniture assembly, machinery production, etc.)
Product types:
- water-based
- solvent-based
- reactive
- hot melts
- natural (e.g., cellulosic adhesives, protein adhesives, vegetable oil-based sealants)
- other products (e.g., bituminous, sodium silicate, polyvinyl butyral)