Asia Pacific Polycarbonate Sheets Market Size, Share, Opportunities, COVID-19 Impact, And Trends By Type (Solid, Corrugated, Multiwall), By End-User Industry (Electrical And Electronics, Automotive, Agriculture, Others), And By Country (China, Japan, India, Others) - Forecasts From 2022 To 2027

The Asia Pacific polycarbonate sheet market is evaluated at US$530.599 million for the year 2020, growing at a CAGR of 7.59% reaching the market size of US$885.568 million by the year 2027.

Polycarbonate sheets are types of thermoplastic sheets which possess properties like moisture absorption, heat, and cold insulation, lightweight, UV protection, and so forth. Polycarbonate sheets are also lighter and stronger than glass, which makes them a suitable alternative for use. The Asia Pacific polycarbonate sheets market is projected to grow at a substantial rate owing to the rapid urbanization, and rising consumer base in the region, especially in Indonesia, India, and China. The increasing population of the most populous nations like China and India is anticipated to push urbanization in the Asia Pacific region, thereby leading to the demand of value for money goods and thus increasing the market growth of polycarbonate sheets.  The increasing growth of lightweight electric vehicle manufacturing in Asian countries like China and India is further anticipated to propel the market share of the polycarbonate sheet market in the Asia Pacific region for the forecast duration.

The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected the polycarbonate sheet market in the Asia Pacific region. The strict restrictions and lockdown across the entire region forced several major manufacturing units to shut down, leading to the supply-demand disproportion. As per the April 2020 article by the World Economic Forum, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the shutting down of factories in Asia, with Japan and South Korea’s factory activities contracting at the fastest rate. The closing of manufacturing led to the low supply of polycarbonate sheets along with the lower demand by consumers amid the fear of the pandemic.

Increasing urbanization, growing consumer base, and lightweight vehicle trends

According to an October 2021 article by the World Economic Forum (WEF), currently, 55% of the global consumer class are living in Asia. Also, the same source mentioned the increase of the Indonesian consumer class to 76 million in 2030 and the highest growth of the Asian countries among the world’s top thirty consumer markets. Additionally, according to the Asia Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), GDP in Asia will expand by 5.2% in 2022 and 5.3% in 2023, resulting from continuous domestic demand and significant exports. The increasing economies and consumer class in the Asian region are anticipated to propel the demand and market share of polycarbonate sheets owing to the value for money mindsets of the growing middle class and consumers in the Asian region. Also, according to the February 2020 release by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Asian region became the urban majority for the first time in 2019, with over 2.3 billion, or 54% of the population, living in urban regions. The UNESCAP release stated that the urban population is expected to rise by more than 2.8 billion in 2030 and further reach about 3.5 billion in 2050. Increased urbanization and rapid consumer growth are major drivers for the anticipated future growth of the polycarbonate sheets market in Asia. Additionally, the growing surge in the manufacturing of lightweight electric vehicles with more flexible, robust, and user-friendly designs incorporating new and innovative materials is also a determinant for the anticipated growth of the Asian polycarbonate sheets market. For example, Lightweight Asia is an automotive trade fair for the Asian automotive industry, which is held annually to showcase lightweight automotive solutions at the fair. In another instance, in February 2022, SABIC, a global chemical industry leader, collaborated with Dongfeng Motors, one of the largest Chinese truck manufacturers, for developing a novel plastic composite hybrid solution for producing lightweight truck-mounted toolboxes. Urbanization, consumer base increase, rising economies along with partnerships and launches by major players in the market are projected to push the growth of polycarbonate sheets in the Asia Pacific during the forecast period.

Trade wars and geopolitical uncertainty The polycarbonate sheet market in the Asia Pacific is projected to rise in a substantial manner owing to the increasing urbanization, economic growth, and the rising manufacturing of novel lightweight vehicles. However, with global trade tensions like the US-China trade war, the growth of the polycarbonate sheet market is anticipated to be restrained. The high tariffs imposed by both China and the US are anticipated to decrease trade volumes between the two, resulting in supply chain disruptions in the Asia Pacific region. As per the May 2019 working paper of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the value-added in the products from Asia-Pacific economies, reach the United States either directly or indirectly from China. The trade war between the two giant economies can anticipatedly cause unease in the supply chain pipeline leading to the non-uniform buying and selling of goods, thus restraining the market growth of polycarbonate sheets Domestic geopolitical tensions between top Asian economies such as China and India are also expected to have serious consequences for overall trade and import-export of goods, causing expected harm to the Asian polycarbonate sheet market. Events like the Galwan valley dispute and the boycott of Chinese goods are further anticipated to disturb the supply chain cycle in the Asian region, thereby negatively impacting and restraining the overall polycarbonate sheet market in Asia.

Segmentation

• By Type
  • Solid
  • Corrugated
  • Multiwall
• By End-User Industry
  • Electrical and Electronics
  • Automotive
  • Construction
  • Agriculture
  • Others
• By Country
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • Others