Phenolic Resins Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Novolac, Resol), By Application (Wood Adhesives, Molding, Insulation, Laminates, Paper Impregnation, Coatings), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global phenolic resins market size was valued at USD 11.17 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.3% over the forecast period, 2019 to 2025. In the transportation sector, there is a rise in demand for rubber and friction materials and has generated interest in durable phenolic compounds and lightweight, which is driving the growth.

Development of heat shield for the Space-X’s Dragon Capsule, which is a Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA), is one of the most momentous technological innovations in the industry. It enables to reuse capsules for future missions because, the raw material allows to return cargo, crew, and the spacecraft to Earth safely, despite the high temperatures.

The market in U.S. promises exceptional growth avenues due to the presence of highly developed industries, application technologies and advanced processing, which is leading to an acceleration in R&D initiatives compelling new product launches. U.S. is home to many automotive manufacturers who are heavily inclined towards new domestic cost advantages by shifting the production facilities to U.S. from other developed economies.

The recovery of the automotive market in U.S. and upsurge in the sales of passenger cars has increased the consumption of novolac resins. The manufacturers are completely relied on the composites that are lighter in weight and bonding agents to witness the strict emission guidelines. Novolac resins are extensively used in abrasives, adhesives, carbon binder and insulation, which is boosting its demand in the end-use industries.

Domestic manufacturing of wall panels, cabinets and furniture is witnessing growth owing to the rise in residential housing that utilizes engineered wood products. The economic recovery in U.S. is expected to put forth lucrative opportunities for these laminates. Additionally, phenolic resins are extensively used to produce industrial and decorative laminates for the construction industry.

The prices for phenolic resins have been under downward pressure because of the oversupply from the emerging nations such as China, which is limiting the progress of the market in the recent years. However, phenolic resins helps in reducing the weight of the vehicles and this leads to control in the emission of CO2, which further accelerates the demand of phenolic resins in foams and other car products.

Application Insights

Based on the application, phenolic resins market is split into wood adhesives, molding, insulation, paper impregnation, laminates and others. Wood adhesives application exhibit exceptional water resistance, water dilutibility, excellent moisture resistance, and weather resistance, which is creating a hype of wood adhesives in various end-use industries. Owing to the rise in the disposable income, the Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest markets for wood adhesives.

Furthermore, the molding components are utilized extensively is numerous end-user industries such as household applications, automotive commutator, and electrical & electronics. Owing to the excellent dimensional stability, the compounds find applications in manufacturing electrical equipment and kitchen-ware, which will further increase the demand for molding resins in near future.

Molding resins segment is considered to be one of the fastest growing applications because of the rapidly growing petrochemical industry in China, which is accelerating the demand for molding in the markets of the Asia Pacific region. Along with this, the market is experiencing bulk trading and production of petrochemical derivatives due to low crude prices, which in turn will foster the growth of the market in the forthcoming years.

In addition to this, many prominent companies operating in the phenolic resins industry have started adopting various strategies to sustain the annual growth and minimize the impact of lowered oil prices on profit margin. This trend is expected to boost the performance of phenolic resins and will also propel the demand in numerous molding activities in the coming years.

Product Insights

The market is bifurcated into novolac and resols. Resols have been further bifurcated into solid and liquid resins. Novolac resins led with 49.95% of the market volume and is expected to witness heavy demand owing to superior properties of the product such as solvent resistance, hardness, and heat. Escalation in the electrical and electronic industry in the countries from North America is also driving the growth.

Furthermore, resol resins are anticipated to emerge as the fastest growing product with a CAGR of around 4.2% over the forecast period. The developing economies such as the Asia Pacific are spending massively on constructions, which is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast timeframe.

Additionally, repair and remodeling activities is gaining traction and is lifting the consumption of resol resins in the construction industry in the developed regions. The innovative products that are implemented with newly discovered properties are likely to meet the transitioning consumer requirements, which will gather pace and boost the growth of the market.

The inherent nature of phenolic resins helps in providing an impermeable shield to protect numerous substrates from the corrosive effects of chemicals. Additionally, other phenolic resins consists of cyanate ester resins, modified resins, benzoxazine resins and spray-dried resins, which are majorly used in structural composites and printed wiring boards, which will hype the demand and growth of the market.

Regional Insights

Geographically, Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR of over 4.4% during the forecast period owing to the rapid expansion of end-use industries such as consumer goods, automotive, construction and aerospace. Additionally, this region is anticipated to foresee development of bio-based feedstock for the production of phenolic resins, which is expected to boost the dynamics of this industry in near future.

Developed economies such as Europe and North America are also likely to witness a revival in the production levels of automobile, which will foster the demand of phenolic resins in numerous applications such as abrasives, adhesives, coatings, and insulation. Along with this, the key participants and increasing the R&D expenditure, which is anticipated to drive the growth of the market in the forthcoming years.

Wide-ranging R&D initiatives are also being raised and undertaken in the MEA market, which has made this region the fastest growing to meet the burgeoning domestic needs that will lead to a positive impact on the market. Additionally, the technological innovations and rise in the disposable income of the consumers will also be responsible for the market’s growth in the near future.

In the recent days, Latin America has also experienced better political stability, which has led to sound economy for investments, and is expected to remain the fastest growing region over the forecast period. The countries of this region are investing in various developed sectors such as consumer electronics and construction to meet the export demand. Phenolic resins are projected to benefit from all the dynamics, along with the availability of low-cost technologies and labor.

Phenolic Resins Market Share Insights

The market consists of major key players who are inclined towards identifying raw materials derived from natural products or byproducts and are majorly resulting from biomass feedstock. These companies are investing huge amounts in R&D activities and in the innovations to gain traction and to create lucrative growth opportunities during the forecast period.

The key participants operating in the market are Owens Corning; Arclin Inc.; Olympic Panel Products LLC; Ashland Inc.; DIC Corporation; Hexcel Corp.; Arizona Chemical Company LLC; Georgia Pacific Chemicals; Kolon Industries Inc.; Momentive Specialty Chemicals; Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd.; BASF SE; Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd.; and SI Group Inc.

BASF SE has recently modernized and enlarged its production plant in Korea that will boost the production capacity of phenolic resins to nearly double the existing amount in Ludwigshafen. Other companies are also looking forward to expanding their reach to various developed economies that will help the industry to grow massively during the forecast period.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country level and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global phenolic resins market report on the basis of product, application, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Novolac

  • Resol

    • Liquid Resol

    • Solid Resol

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Wood Adhesives

  • Molding

  • Insulation

  • Laminates

  • Paper Impregnation

  • Coatings

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

    • U.K.

    • Turkey

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • Southeast Asia

  • Latin America

    • Mexico

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa