Global Trade in Plastic Flexible Tubes, Pipes and Hoses Soars to Record $1.3B

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'World - Flexible Tubes, Pipes and Hoses of Plastics, with Fittings - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

Global Imports of Plastic Flexible Tubes, Pipes and Hoses

Global imports of flexible tubes, pipes and hoses of plastics surged to 145K tons in 2020, with an increase of 27% against the previous year's figure. In value terms, supplies rose remarkably from $1.2B to $1.3B (IndexBox estimates).

The U.S. represented the main importing country with an import of about 36K tons, which finished at 25% of total volume. It was distantly followed by Germany (13K tons) and Belgium (9.4K tons), together making up a 16% share of total imports. France (5.6K tons), Spain (5.3K tons), the UK (5.1K tons), Saudi Arabia (4.5K tons), Austria (4.3K tons), the Netherlands (4.1K tons), Qatar (4K tons), the Czech Republic (3.2K tons), Switzerland (2.6K tons) and Portugal (2.4K tons) took a minor share of total imports.

In value terms, the U.S. ($210M), Germany ($155M) and the Netherlands ($60M) appeared to be the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, together accounting for 33% of global supplies. These countries were followed by the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Portugal and Qatar, which together accounted for a further 19%. In terms of the main importing countries, Qatar recorded the highest growth rate of imports, doubling purchases in 2020.

In 2020, the average import price for flexible tubes, pipes and hoses of plastics amounted to $8,991 per ton, waning by -11.3% against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was the Netherlands, while Qatar was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Switzerland, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Leading Suppliers of Plastic Flexible Tubes, Pipes and Hoses

In 2020, China (34K tons), distantly followed by Germany (19K tons), the U.S. (13K tons), Italy (8.6K tons), and Taiwan (Chinese) (6.8K tons) represented the key exporters of flexible tubes, pipes and hoses of plastics, together committing 62% of total volume. The Czech Republic (5.9K tons), North Macedonia (4.5K tons), the UK (4.2K tons), Ireland (4K tons), Slovakia (3.4K tons), Serbia (2.8K tons), France (2.7K tons) and the Netherlands (2.4K tons) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, Germany ($200M), the U.S. ($194M) and China ($149M) were the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2020, together comprising 43% of global supplies. These countries were followed by the Netherlands, the UK, France, Italy, Taiwan (Chinese), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Ireland and North Macedonia, which accounted for a further 24%.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform