Sandwich Panel Market

The global mineral wool steel sandwich panel market is expected to witness sustainable growth in the next five years. The demand for mineral wool steel sandwich panel is poised to be driven with growing number of cold storage warehouses and rising demand for fast and economic construction techniques. However, lack of skilled labor and fluctuation in raw material prices acts as a restraint for the market.

As international trade continues to expand at a flourishing rate, drugs, perishable foods, and chemicals are rapidly traded and transported around the world. Over the years, cold chain logistics has grown significantly to support the stunning global trade. Rise in trade-related activities is expected to create demand for cold storage warehouses. In Cold storage warehouses, the steel sandwich panel is mostly used for constructing the walls, ceilings and roofs for freezer, cooler, and food processing units. Insulated metal panels are perfect for dry goods warehouses and temperature-controlled buildings.

Countries with larger populations, high disposable incomes, and geographic areas likely to have more need for refrigerated warehousing services. For Instance, as per the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), The total capacity of cold storage warehouses globally was 616 mn cubic meters(cbm) in 2018, 2.67% more than the capacity in 2016. India holds the largest market share with cold storage capacity of 150 mn cbm, followed by the US at 131 mn cbm, and China at 105 mn cbm. The below table depicts the capacity of cold storage warehouse of prominent countries in mn cbm.

The Engineering and Construction sector has been adopting new technologies aiming to reduce the construction time as well as the decreasing the overall construction. Most of the architectural designs can be rapidly transformed into finished building structures using sandwich panel system and construction methods. Growing adoption of fast and economic construction techniques in warehousing, are expected to create demand for steel sandwich panel. Which in turn is expected to drive the market for sandwich panel.

Developing countries play an important role in the growth of the global sandwich panel market as the construction industry significantly contributes to their emerging economies. The rapid growth of the emerging economies is anticipated in the countries such as China, India, Mexico, and the UAE. The construction industry in these countries is expected to witness a high growth rate owing to the availability of barren lands, which could be transformed into commercial complexes, educational institutes, military, and industrial structures.

Asia-Pacific is expected to hold the largest share of the global construction industry due to the increasing number of construction projects that are set to go underway. With countries such as India and China looking to strengthen their infrastructure, government aids and subsidies in such countries are aimed at attracting significant investments in the construction industry. Sustainable construction techniques have been adopted in Asia-Pacific, mainly due to the increasing need for new housing facilities to meet the demand for quick construction from the growing population. Thus, the rapidly growing population and increasing housing construction projects are expected to lead to an increase in the demand for sandwich panels in such countries. In addition to this, the benefits of sandwich panel products, such as easy installation, thermal insulation, cost-effectiveness, and lightweight are expected to increase their use in construction projects in developing countries. Thus, the increasing use of sandwich panels in emerging economies is expected to create opportunities for players operating in the global sandwich panel market during the forecast period.

The high number of construction projects across the globe creates a high demand for skilled workers. Globally, the projected requirement for workforce in construction is more than the availability. The lack of skilled labor leads to an increase in the risks of contractors as it increases the likelihood of a delay. Moreover, many developing countries, such as India and China, have witnessed a severe shortage of skilled labor because of the migration of skilled workers, an aging workforce, and the lack of training. According to a skill gap report commissioned by the National Skill Development Corporation, in India, the building, construction, and real estate sector is estimated to require around 31.13 million of additional skilled workforce by 2022. However, the gap between the required workforce and their employability is expected to hamper the sandwich panel industry, which would affect the growth of the market for sandwich panel.

Sandwich panel products require highly skilled labor to ensure proper cutting, fixing, and finishing. Thus, the lack of skilled labor is expected to restrain the growth of the global sandwich panel market during the forecast period. However, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been taking many initiatives to train workforces. Programs such as Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) and Rural Economic Empowerment (TREE) programs are launched by the ILO for the development of the workforce worldwide. Moreover, the ILOs Skills and Employability Program for Asia and the Pacific (SKILLS-AP) was also launched with the objective of providing solutions to the skill development issues in Asia-Pacific. Thus, the lack of skilled labor is expected to restrain the growth of the global sandwich panel market during the forecast period.