Trends in the Global demand for PVC pipes and tubes

New megacities, digitization, climate change, and environmental concerns are changing the world. A change that plastic tube and pipe manufacturers benefit from. The need for PVC pipes is on the increase due to its numerous applications such as in the protection of newly created communication infrastructures, the hygienic disposal of wastewater and the supply of drinking water, or for more efficient agricultural irrigation processes.

Market researchers have already analyzed the global market for plastic tubes on more than one occasion. However, for the first time, a research team has presented a separate market study and forecast for PVC pipes / tubes: Global demand for PVC pipes is likely to increase 4.3% annually until 2025.

PVC pipes gain market share

PVC drinking water pipes are highly resistant to inorganic acids, saline solutions and alkaline solutions. In addition, they are resistant to temperature. PVC pipes are suitable for all water qualities: They are corrosion resistant and do not react with drinking water. The legal requirements for drinking water pipes are often very demanding. Especially in industrialized countries, PVC pipes are gaining market shares, for example for domestic connection pipes. However, there is going to be a change in the PVC pipe production line price.

Currently, the PVC pipes and tubes are beginning to find even more and more applications. one of them is their use for soil distribution. Riser pipes and distribution pipes in basements are typical application areas for PE-X and aluminum composite pipes. In the cable protection segment, PVC pipes can also gain market shares. Especially in the case of broadband expansion and the laying of new fiber optic cables, it is likely that more PVC pipes are used than PE. A distinction must be made between various types, such as fiber optic protection tubes, microtubes or cable ducts. In the cable protection segment, global demand for PVC pipes is expected to increase by around 4.8% per year by 2025.

Other areas of application of the PVC are the manufacture of automobiles, gas and oil pipelines, as well as industrial pipelines, for example for the transport of chemical products.

When compared to standard PE, crosslinking increases stability and temperature resistance. Polyethylene is important in manufacturing as it is flexible and can be welded and turned into spiral tubes. When it comes to the heating and cooling applications, the PVC pipes as well as multilayer composite pipes are the most suitable.

Plastic tube market trends

PVC pipes increasingly replace stoneware or steel pipes and, in some segments, and also pipes made of other forms of plastics. It is important to note that this trend is being overshadowed by current economic developments: Political uncertainties, declining public spending, or a lack of private investment can have drastic effects on the construction industry and the pipeline market. Investments in the irrigation segment or in the expansion of the fiber optic network vary from country to country. Today, prospects for major markets in China and Russia, for example, have improved again.