The European Nonwoven Fabric Market Slows Down Near $7.6B

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'EU - Nonwoven Fabric - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

The EU nonwoven fabric market declined slightly to $7.6B in 2019, stabilizing at the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers' margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). In general, consumption recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in 2016 with an increase of 4.1% against the previous year. Over the period under review, the market attained the maximum level at $7.6B in 2018, and then declined modestly in the following year.

Consumption by Country

Germany (384K tons) remains the largest nonwoven fabric consuming country in the European Union, accounting for 21% of total volume. Moreover, nonwoven fabric consumption in Germany exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, Poland (190K tons), twofold. Italy (182K tons) ranked third in terms of total consumption with a 10% share.

From 2014 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of volume in Germany stood at +4.2%. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: Poland (+3.0% per year) and Italy (-8.2% per year).

In value terms, the largest nonwoven fabric markets in the European Union were Germany ($1.8B), Italy ($895M) and France ($685M), together comprising 44% of the total market. These countries were followed by Poland, the Czech Republic, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and Romania, which together accounted for a further 45%.

In 2019, the highest levels of nonwoven fabric per capita consumption was registered in the Czech Republic (13 kg per person), followed by Belgium (5.42 kg per person), Poland (5 kg per person) and the Netherlands (4.92 kg per person), while the world average per capita consumption of nonwoven fabric was estimated at 3.52 kg per person.

Production in the EU

In 2019, production of nonwoven fabrics increased by 3.2% to 1.9M tons for the first time since 2016, thus ending a two-year declining trend. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +1.2% over the period from 2014 to 2019; the trend pattern remained consistent, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2016 with an increase of 7.2% y-o-y. As a result, production attained the peak volume of 2.1M tons. From 2017 to 2019, production growth failed to regain the momentum.

Production by Country

The countries with the highest volumes of nonwoven fabric production in 2019 were Germany (517K tons), Italy (367K tons) and the Czech Republic (185K tons), together accounting for 55% of total production. France, Spain, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the UK, Denmark and Belgium lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 36%.

From 2014 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of nonwoven fabric production, amongst the main producing countries, was attained by the Netherlands, while nonwoven fabric production for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Imports in the EU

For the sixth year in a row, the European Union recorded growth in overseas purchases of nonwoven fabrics, which increased by 3.8% to 1.4M tons in 2019. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +3.4% from 2014 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being observed in certain years. In value terms, nonwoven fabric imports dropped to $5.9B (IndexBox estimates) in 2019.

Imports by Country

In 2019, Germany (253K tons), followed by Poland (164K tons), the UK (143K tons), France (116K tons), Italy (100K tons), Belgium (96K tons), the Czech Republic (94K tons), the Netherlands (80K tons) and Spain (78K tons) were the largest importers of nonwoven fabrics, together generating 78% of total imports. Austria (41K tons), Romania (38K tons) and Sweden (35K tons) occupied a little share of total imports.

From 2014 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Romania, while purchases for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, Germany ($1.2B) constitutes the largest market for imported nonwoven fabrics in the European Union, comprising 19% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Poland ($553M), with a 9.3% share of total imports. It was followed by the UK, with a 8.3% share.

In Germany, nonwoven fabric imports remained relatively stable over the period from 2014-2019. The remaining importing countries recorded the following average annual rates of imports growth: Poland (+3.4% per year) and the UK (-2.8% per year).

Import Prices by Country

In 2019, the nonwoven fabric import price in the European Union amounted to $4,147 per ton, dropping by -5.7% against the previous year. Overall, the import price showed a perceptible setback. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2018 an increase of 6% against the previous year. Over the period under review, import prices attained the peak figure at $4,635 per ton in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, import prices failed to regain the momentum.

Average prices varied somewhat amongst the major importing countries. In 2019, major importing countries recorded the following prices: in Italy ($4,843 per ton) and Romania ($4,811 per ton), while Poland ($3,382 per ton) and the UK ($3,438 per ton) were amongst the lowest.

From 2014 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by the Czech Republic, while the other leaders experienced mixed trends in the import price figures.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform