Ceresana, an industrial market research group, has recently released a market report on high-density polyethylene (HDPE), outlining variables including development of revenues, demand, production and capacities , import and export, and processing technologies analysed for surveyed regions and countries.

The report highlights the versatility of the materials with the broad portfolio of products 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 to rise dynamically to almost US$70 billion in 2019.

According to the report, the main growth motor will be Asia-Pacific and market analysts expect demand in this region to rise at average growth rates of 4.4% per year. However, 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", said Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana.

One of the major application areas for HDPE is the blow moulding 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 moulding and film extrusion in particular. The production of films is the dominating market segment in Asia-Pacific, whereas blow moulding and injection moulding are the most common processing technologies in North America and Western Europe.

But the most dynamic growth in the coming 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.