Plastic Compounding Market Expected to Reach $781.3 Million by 2032—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Plastic Compounding Market," The plastic compounding market was valued at $448.3 million in 2022, and is estimated to reach $781.3 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2023 to 2032.

Plastic compounding is a process in the plastics industry where various ingredients and additives are combined to create a customized plastic material with specific properties. This process involves blending polymer compounds (such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC) with various additives, fillers, reinforcements, and colorants to achieve the desired characteristics, such as strength, flexibility, flame resistance, UV resistance, color, and more. Plastic compounding allows manufacturers to tailor plastics to meet specific performance criteria, making it a critical part of various industries, including automotive, construction, packaging, and consumer goods.

Customized plastic compounds offer benefits such as improved strength, durability, resistance to environmental factors, and cost-effectiveness for various applications. Increase in investments in building infrastructure in countries such as the U.S., China, Japan, Mexico, and India, have led the building & construction sector to witness a significant growth where plastic compounds are used for pipe fitting, conduit in plumbing, flooring, and roofing applications.

In addition, sustainable economic growth coupled with increasing demand for consumer goods has led the automotive & transportation sector to witness a significant increase in demand where plastic compounding is widely used in automotive interiors for making instrument panels, upholstery, door panels, and wiring insulation. These factors are predicted to contribute toward global market growth.

However, plastic compounding involves a multi-step process that includes blending polymers with additives, fillers, and reinforcements. This process is complex and require specialized equipment and expertise. Customized plastic compounds are more expensive to produce than off-the-shelf plastic compounds. The cost increases further if specialty additives or fillers are required. Ensuring consistent quality in compounded plastics is challenging. Variations in the quality of raw materials, mixing processes, and equipment affect the final product's properties. These factors are expected to restrain market growth during the forecast period.

The emergence of high plastic compounds that produce little or no VOCs has surged the potential applications of plastic compounds among several end-use sectors. Increase in awareness of environmental issues and the desire to reduce plastic waste have led to the development and adoption of bio-based and biodegradable plastic compounds. These compounds are seen as more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional plastics.

Furthermore, rise in awareness of environmental issues and the desire to reduce plastic waste have led to the development and adoption of bio-based and biodegradable plastic compounds. These compounds were seen as more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional plastics. These factors are anticipated to offer opportunities for the plastic compounding market growth during the forecast period.

By polymer type, the market is segregated into polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PU), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and other polymers.

The polypropylene segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2022, with 26% of the total share. The growing automotive sector attributed to increasing purchasing power of customers has surged the popularity of polypropylene based plastic compounds, where it is widely used for manufacturing of automobile components such as, automotive bumpers, bumper facias, instrumental panels, door trims, and wheel covers. This factor is expected to boost the demand for polypropylene-based plastic compounds in the increasing automotive industry; thus, fueling the market growth.

By end use, the global plastic compounding market is segmented into automotive, building & construction, packaging, electrical & electronics, medical, and others. Packaging end use dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2022, with 36% of the total share. Moreover, growing cosmetics, healthcare, electronics, and plastic manufacturing industries have surged the demand for plastic compounds.

Polystyrene and polyethylene compounds are used in making plastic containers plastic devices, cables, wires, and others. The increasing demand for consumer goods has led the packaging sector to witness a significant growth where plastic compounds is widely used for goods packaging purposes. These factors have escalated the overall demand for plastic compounds in the packaging industry; thus, offering new opportunities for market expansion.

Region-wise, the plastic compounding market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific plastic compounding market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is attributed to the fact that,

Key players operating in the global plastic compounding market include Asahi Kasei Corporation, BASF SE, Celanese Corporation, Covestro AG, DowDuPont Inc., Kingfa Sci. and Tech. Co., Ltd., LyondellBasell Industries Holdings B.V., Polyone Corporation, SABIC, and Solvay SA.

Key Findings:

• On the basis of polymer type, the polypropylene segment is expected to grow at a high CAGR, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.
• Depending on end use, the packaging segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.
• Region wise, Asia-Pacific garnered a share of morethan 45% in 2022 in terms of revenue.