Abstract
Newer Environmental Regulations Pose Challenges
In line with heightened environmental concerns, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
enforcing changes in the coatings industry by tightening the solvent volatile organic compound (VOC)
emission regulations. Moreover, state governments are continually introducing newer and more
stringent regulations, thereby forcing manufacturers to tailor their products in accordance with
regional legislative guidelines. While larger companies have a well-established research and
development (R&D) setup to proactively deal with this situation, smaller and mid-sized companies
have been particularly affected due to the lack of such resources and infrastructure. Nevertheless,
as the United States heads toward zero VOC in coatings, changing environmental regulations continue
to present a challenge to all participants in the elastomeric coatings market.
This Frost & Sullivan research service analyses the U.S. markets for elastomeric coatings,
presenting a comprehensive view of the market and listing the latest trends and developments in the
industry. It further provides the market size and growth forecast for each application segment and
includes in-depth strategies to aid market penetration and address industry challenges.
Need for High Performance Coatings Boosts Demand
Coupled with the strong growth in the construction industry, the expanding need for high
performance coatings is strengthening the demand for elastomeric coatings. Their unmatched
waterproofing abilities has led to an increase in their uptake in coastal areas that are prone to
strong moisture laden winds. Further, being dirt, mildew, and chemical-resistant, end users are
realizing that applying these coatings is much more economical to carrying out frequent renovation
or replacement work.
As crude oil prices continue to climb, manufacturers of the elastomeric resins such as butyl
acrylate and polymeric diphenyl methane diIsocynate (MDI) have raised their prices by 10-30 percent.
This, in turn, has led to elastomeric coatings manufacturers passing on a part of this increase to
their end users through a 5-10 percent price hike on their entire product range. "Larger
organizations with their superior bargaining powers are better positioned to limit the hike in
prices," says the analyst of this research service. "Nevertheless, the unpredictable
nature of raw materials and fuel supplies combined with the increasing prices present a serious
challenge to all coatings manufacturers."
Using a Mix of Distribution Channels Could Help Further Sales
Manufacturers of elastomeric coatings have the option of supplying directly to contractors or
employing a chain of distributors. Using a distribution network helps spread coverage and increase
brand recognition and supplying directly to contractors can increase the volume per consignment.
However, many manufacturers are employing a mix of distribution channels as this helps them attain
geographic coverage as well as the opportunity to bag bulk orders from jobsites such as parking
garages that require several gallons of elastomeric coatings.
The U.S. elastomeric coatings market is highly fragmented with most of the companies
participating in one or two of the three end-user segments, the end-user segments being elastomeric
wall coatings, elastomeric floor coatings and elastomeric roof coatings. While the larger companies
usually supply coatings for a variety of end users within a particular segment, smaller ones prefer
to focus on niche markets. "Elastomeric coatings are experiencing growth at the expense of
other coatings and wall coatings are presently dominating the marketplace," says the
analyst." However, as end users begin to pay more attention to their roofs than their floors
and walls, this pattern is expected to change with the elastomeric roof coatings slowly moving to
the top spot."
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