Projected to grow at a CAGR of almost 5% from 2016 to 2024, injection molded plastic market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period owing to rapid surge of plastic component demand among end users such as home appliances, medical devices, electrical & electronics, packaging and automotive.
The process of injection molding entails production of molded products by melting molten plastic materials with the help of injection molding machine into a mold, cooling and then solidifying it. These plastic materials are preferred over other materials such as glass and wood used for packaging. Emerging markets such as South Africa Brazil, Mexico, Russia and China are increasing construction expenses which are to drive the demand of plastic over the next eight years.
These plastics have good pressure and heat resistance due to which they are being used by many industries. Furthermore, faster production, low labor cost, processing of simultaneous raw materials and minimum waste production is driving the growth of market over the forecast period. China’s economic situation and lowering down of crude oil prices have significantly affected the petrochemical manufacturing. China holds an essential position in trading and bulk production of petrochemical derivatives.
Volatile crude oil price and of raw materials such as propylene, benzene, ethylene and styrene are expected to hamper the market growth over the next eight years. The industry is now focusing manufacturing molded plastics using biodegradable products to overcome such challenges. Thus the plastic manufacturers are acquiring biotechnology companies to produce plastic out of bio-based products.
The industry is segmented on the basis of raw materials, application, end user and geography. On the basis of raw materials, the market is divided into polystyrene, polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and high density polyethylene.
Polypropylene dominated the market by revenue share of around 35% in 2015 owing to its properties such as lightweight and superior flexibility. The consumption of propylene is increasing among households, automotive industries and packaging application. Increasing use of propylene in electronic & electrical appliances owing to its electrical insulation and corrosion resistance properties, bottle caps, housewares, luggage and toys is anticipated to drive the demand over the forecast period.
ABS manufactured plastics are majorly used in making automobile bumpers due to its recyclable property. ABS accounted for around 24% of the market share in 2015 owing to automobile growth in emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil.
Major end-use applications of injection molded plastic include packaging, automotive industry, healthcare sectors, and transportation. The injection molded plastics is majorly used in packaging which had a high requirement of more than 40,000 kilo tons in 2015 and growing. These plastics go through several development stages to meet customer requirements and regulatory guidelines.
Injection molded plastics have huge potential in automobile and medical industry. The cost efficient method used for production such as biocompatibility is to drive the market over the years. Medical grade plastics used in healthcare due to stringent regulations and its ability to withstand heat during sterilization is to impact the market over the years. Growing environmental concerns force medical device firms to produce bio-degradable polymers which provides for opportunities in this market.
Increasing development of transportation industry in Asia-Pacific region, especially in China is to spur the market growth. Automobile manufacturers are looking for lightweight components to enhance fuel efficiency. Thus, growing popularity of plastics instead of steel or other metals in automotive industries will accelerate the product demand in automobile segment which in turn will provide opportunity to enter into the industry.
On the basis of geography, the market is divided into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific market dominated the overall demand and accounted for around 35% of total volume in 2015. Asia Pacific countries like Thailand, India, Indonesia and China are becoming the major manufacturing hub for electronics and automobile industries owing to low labor costs. Government incentives are offered to these manufactures in form of tax benefits. This factor increases the manufacturing of automotive components which in turn gives rise to injection molded plastics demand over the next eight years. Europe’s total demand for injection molded plastic is expected to reach USD 75 billion by 2024. Europe’s packaging application and automobile industry is expected to drive the market over the forecast period.
Key players in global injection molded plastics market are Dow Chemical Company, SABIC, Huntsman, LyondellBasell, DuPont, Ineos, HTI Plastics, BASF and Magna International Inc.
In February 2016, LyondellBasell launched two new Polypropylene grades namely Purell grade RP315M and Purell HP548N for healthcare applications such as pill strips, syringe plungers, medical devices and rigid containers. These products increase the cycle time and production of cast film which is to drive the market over the forecast period.
