The market research company Ceresana analyzed the complete market for fillers for the fifth time already: Worldwide demand for ground calcium carbonate (GCC), precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), kaolin, talc, carbon black, and other fillers will presumably amount to about 75 million tonnes in 2024. The market researchers of Ceresana expect revenues to increase by an average of 3.2% per year.

Regional Differences

The most important applications for fillers are the production and processing of paper, plastics, paints and varnishes, elastomers as well as adhesives and sealants. There are significant differences between the sales markets for fillers in regard to the world regions: While application in the paper industry accounts for a market share of 31% in Western Europe, the share is below 19% in Asia. Vice versa, manufacturers of elastomer products in Asia hold shares of about 32% on the filler market - in Western Europe the share amounts to 22%. To emphasize these regional and country-specific differences, the demand for fillers in the application areas is analyzed in detail.

Highly Filled Materials

The most important sales market for fillers in 2016 was the segment elastomers. This application area accounted for about 28.0% of global total consumption. For the upcoming years, Ceresana expects further steady growth in this segment. Plastics are the second largest application area worldwide. The demand for fillers in this segment will presumably increase to about 22 million tonnes in 2024. New and more demanding applications for engineering plastics and compounds require fillers to possess properties of an ever higher quality. Automotive engineering, for example, systemically utilizes fillers to reduce the weight of the product and increase the stability of plastic products. Additionally, the production of highly filled compounds with properties tailored to meet the exact needs of individual customers is rising as well: These plastics contain up to 85% of fillers, possess excellent mechanical properties and are even more cost-effective than conventional materials in many cases.

GCC and Carbon Black Dominate the Market

With a market share of 34%, the most commonly used filler on the global market is ground calcium carbonate (GCC). Over the past eight years, global demand for GCC has increased by an average of 2.7% per year. Out of the total volume used worldwide in 2016, about 50% were used in Asia-Pacific. Until 2024, Ceresana forecasts an annual increase of GCC at rates of 2.5%. The largest consumer of GCC is the segment plastics, which is likely to increase its demand for fillers even further. The segment paints and varnishes ranked second, followed by paper.
Carbon Black is the second largest sales market with a demand of 11.7 million tonnes. The rubber industry is the most important application area for carbon black. It is used as a reinforcing filler, since it significantly increases the abrasion resistance of tire-rubber.
Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) is the third largest sales market. Many properties of PCC are identical to those of GCC. PCC is most frequently used in the production of paper, followed by the use in paints and varnishes.

The Study in Brief:

Chapter 1 provides a presentation and analysis of the global market for fillers – including forecasts up to 2024: Demand for and revenues generated with fillers are provided for the world and each region.
Chapter 2 analyzes the 16 most important countries and their filler revenues and demand. Demand is split by individual applications and product types; the demand of the particular product type split by applications is analyzed. Additionally, all important manufacturers are listed according to countries.
Chapter 3 offers a substantiated analysis of the application areas for fillers: paper, plastics, paints & varnishes, elastomers, adhesives & sealants.
Chapter 4 examines demand for individual types of fillers: GCC, PCC, carbon black, kaolin, talc, and other fillers. Demand is clearly arranged for each of the 16 countries analyzed in chapter 2 and all world regions.
Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers, clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, profile summary, and product types. In-depth profiles of 123 producers are given. Further information: www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/chemicals/fillers/


About Ceresana:
Ceresana is a leading international market research institute and consultancy company for chemicals, plastics, industrial goods, and packaging. The company has been providing more than 10,000 customers from trade and industry in 60 countries with up-to-date analyses for over 15 years. The services of Ceresana for manufacturers, processors, and associations include implementation oriented consulting, customized single-client studies, and more than 100 market studies independent of the order.