High density, strong growth

The broad portfolio of products shows how versatile the plastic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is: it ranges from food packaging, bottles, cosmetics, care products and household goods to technical parts and products for the construction sector.

Ceresana expects worldwide revenues generated with this important type of plastic to rise dynamically to almost US$70 billion in 2019.

Main growth motor will be Asia-Pacific; market analysts expect demand in this region to rise at average growth rates of 4.4% per year. Yet sales market in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South America are also likely to generate above-average growth rates. Demand development on the market for HDPE in North America and Western Europe, however, will be notably slower.

"Changes in regional demand will also have an effect on the global production structure of manufacturers. Over the next eight years, new capacities of more than 8 million tonnes will be added in Asia-Pacific", explains Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana.

One of the major application areas for HDPE is the blow molding of bottles and other hollow pieces. Products of this type accounted for roughly 28% of global HDPE market volume in 2011, closely followed by films and injection molded products.

Strong regional differences can be observed in the segments blow molding and film extrusion in particular. The production of films is the dominating market segment in Asia-Pacific, whereas blow molding and injection molding are the most common processing technologies in North America and Western Europe.

But the most dynamic growth in the upcoming eight years is forecast for the HDPE pipe segment; Ceresana expects demand in this sector to increase by 4.8% per year. China and other emerging countries are expanding their infrastructure, which results in pipes and cable conduits made from HDPE becoming more important. Not only do they substitute materials such as concrete or metal but can also compete against other types of plastics such as PVC.