The latest market report, “The Future of Industrial Nonwovens to 2029,” tracks global demand for 5 nonwoven fabrics in 30 industrial end uses. Many of the most important sectors in these industries – automotive production, construction and geotextiles – which were hit by a downturn at the beginning of this century, first due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then due to inflation, high oil prices and increased logistics costs. These problems are expected to subside within next 5 years. In this context, promoting new sales in each industry will pose different challenges to the supply and demand of each non woven fabric – including the development of higher-performance and lighter materials.
Global demand is expected to recover across the board, reaching 7.41 million tonnes, mainly spunbond and drylaid; with a global value of $29.4 billion in 2024. At constant value and pricing, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is +8.2%, with sales reaching $43.68 billion by 2029, with consumption increasing to 10.56 million tonnes over the same period.
In terms of sales, Asia is the world’s largest consumer of industrial nonwovens in 2024, with a market share of 45.7%, followed by North America (26.3%) and Europe (19%). This leading position will not change until 2029, and the market share of North America, Europe and South America will be more encroached by Asia.
In the next five years, the growth opportunities for industrial nonwovens are as follows:
Nonwovens for the construction industry
The largest industry for industrial nonwovens is construction, accounting for 24.5% of demand by weight. This includes durable materials used in building construction, such as housewrap, insulation, and roofing substrates; as well as indoor carpeting and other flooring. The industry is heavily dependent on the residential construction market, which has slowed due to global inflation and economic problems. But there is also a significant non-residential segment, including institutional and commercial buildings in the private and public sectors. At the same time, continued stimulus spending after the COVID-19 pandemic has also driven economic growth. This, in line with the recovery of consumer confidence, means that residential construction is expected to outperform non-residential construction over the next five years.
Several pressing needs of contemporary residential construction favor the widespread use of nonwovens. The desire for energy-efficient buildings will boost sales of homewrap materials such as DuPont’s Tyvek and Berry’s Typar; with its spunbond or wet-laid fiberglass insulation. Emerging markets are developing for the use of airlaid pulp as a low-cost, sustainable option for building insulation. Carpet and carpet underlay will gain some benefit from reduced material costs in favor of needlepunched substrates; however, laminate flooring, both wet and dry underlays, will grow faster as modern interior design aesthetics prefer this type of flooring.
Geotextiles
Nonwoven geotextile sales are tied to the broader construction market but have also seen some benefit from public stimulus investments in infrastructure. Applications include agriculture, drainage liners, erosion control, and underlayment for roads and rail. Together, these account for 15.5% of contemporary industrial nonwovens consumption, with demand expected to exceed the market average over the next five years.
The main nonwoven used is needlepunch, but there is also a market for spunbond polyester and polypropylene in crop protection. Climate change and more unpredictable weather are creating a new emphasis on erosion control and efficient drainage, which could increase demand for heavier needlepunch geotextile materials.
Nonwovens for Filtration
Air and water filtration is the second largest end-use sector for industrial nonwovens in 2024, accounting for 15.8% of the market. This is one sector that has not seen a significant decline as a result of COVID-19. In fact, sales of air filtration media have surged as a means of controlling the spread of the virus; residual impacts will continue with more investment in fine filter substrates and more frequent replacement. The outlook for filtration media over the next five years is very positive. Double-digit CAGR forecasts will see these materials surpass architectural nonwovens as the most lucrative end-use application by the end of the decade.
Liquid filtration uses wet-laid and melt-blown substrates for finer hot cooking oil filters, milk filters, pool and spa filters, water filters, and blood filters; while spunbond is widely used as a support matrix for these, or to filter coarse particles. An improving global economy is expected to spur growth in liquid filtration through 2029.
Automotive Manufacturing
The medium-term outlook for growth in nonwoven sales in the automotive manufacturing industry is also positive, despite a sharp decline in world vehicle production in the early 2020s, which is now approaching pre-pandemic levels again. In modern cars, nonwovens are used in flooring, fabrics, and hoods in the vehicle cabin; they can also be used in filtration systems and insulation. By 2024, these products will account for 13.7% of total global industrial nonwovens tonnage. There is a strong push to develop higher-performing, lighter-weight substrates to reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency. This is most evident in the booming electric vehicle market. With limited charging infrastructure in many regions, extending vehicle range is a priority. At the same time, the elimination of noise from combustion engines means higher requirements for sound insulation materials.
The transition to electric vehicles has also opened up a new market for specialty nonwovens for onboard power batteries. Nonwovens are one of the two safest options for separators in lithium-ion batteries. The most promising solution is special wetting agents for ceramic coatings, although some manufacturers are also experimenting with coated spunbond and meltblown polypropylene.
SourceNonwoven offers the non woven fabric for industrial parts as well, we already have many customers in construction, agriculture, filtration and automotive, let us know your specification we will offer you a solution!