Polyurethane Foam Market

The global polyurethane foam market is projected to expand at a healthy CAGR of 8.36% during the assessment period, from 2018 to 2023, to reach USD 76,065.74 million by the end of 2023. The key factors driving the growth of this market are the growing demand in the building and construction industry and robust growth of the home furnishing industry. Furthermore, the widening scope of application for polyurethane foam in the automotive, packaging, and footwear industries is projected to propel the market growth during the forecast period.

However, the environmental regulations on the use of methylene chloride as a blowing agent are expected to restrain the market growth to some extent during the forecast period. Additionally, volatile raw material price is another major challenge to the growth of the market.

The global polyurethane foam market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and region.

On the basis of type, the market is categorized into flexible, rigid, and spray. Among these types, the flexible foam accounted for the largest market share of 48.55% in 2017 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.50% during the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to the vast applications of this type of polyurethane foams in major end-use industries, such as building and construction, bedding and furniture, and automotive. In addition to this, physical properties such as good absorption and low volume to weight ratio are driving the demand for flexible foams in the recent times. The spray foam is emerging as the fastest growing type of polyurethane foam, which is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR of 8.70% during the assessment period. The anticipated high growth of the spray foam is mainly attributed to the surging demand in insulation, floatation, and roofing applications.

Based on application the market is divided into building & construction, bedding & furniture, automotive, electronics, packaging, footwear, and others. The building and construction industry was the largest consumer of the polyurethane foam in 2017 and is estimated to reach USD 26,166.6 million by the end of 2023 at a CAGR of 9.47%. High use of the flexible foams in building insulation, roofing, wall cavities, and flooring is the primary factor responsible for the largest market share of this segment. Moreover, surging demand for the spray foams in building insulation to meet the global construction standards is driving the growth of this segment during the forecast period.

Geographically, in 2017, the market was dominated by Asia-Pacific with a market share of 41.31%; it is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 9.15% to reach USD 32,822.6 million by the end of 2023. The primary factor favoring the growth of the market in this region is the strong growth in demand for the product in the leading end-use industries such as automotive, building and construction, bedding and furniture, packaging, and footwear. Moreover, the rapid urbanization and industrialization mingled with favorable government policies may boost the growth of this regional market.