Flame retardant COATED FABRICS to 2010

US demand to reach 680 million square yards by 2010

Demand for coated fabrics is projected to increase 3.2 percent annually through 2010 to 680 million square yards. Gains will be driven in part by ongoing strength in the protective clothing and motor vehicle airbag markets. Rebounds in spending on capital projects and nonresidential building construction will also aid growth. Ongoing advances in coated fabric technology, including the use of thinner and more durable coatings, will also spur gains. However, further increases will be restrained by burgeoning competition from engineered textiles, which feature chemical treatments or coatings that are applied at the thread or fiber level rather than after the fabric has been produced.

Vinyl-coated fabrics to remain leading type

Of the three major fabric types, nonrubber- coated fabrics, including those coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane or acrylic, accounted for the largest share of coated fabric sales in 2005, with more than 80 percent of demand value. Within this category, PVC-coated fabrics are the leading type, benefitting from good performance at a modest price in a wide variety of applications. Rubbercoated fabrics, including those coated with natural rubber, neoprene, silicone rubber or butyl rubber, will post above average gains through 2009, benefitting from the growth in motor vehicle airbags, industrial equipment and protective clothing. Fabric-backed wallcoverings are expected to post the strongest gains over the same period, due to product innovations and the rebound in nonresidential construction spending.