OHIO – The elevated consumption of disinfecting wipes due to COVID-19, and plastics-free demand from governments and consumers and growth in industrial wipes are creating high demand for spunlace nonwoven materials through 2026, according to new research from Smithers.
The report by veteran Smithers author Phil Mango, The Future of Spunlace Nonwovens through 2026, sees increasing global demand for sustainable nonwovens, of which spunlace is a major contributor.
The largest end use for spunlace nonwovens by far is wipes; the pandemic-related surge in disinfecting wipes even increased this. In 2021, wipes account for 64.7% of all spunlace consumption in tonnes. The global consumption of spunlace nonwovens in 2021 is 1.6 million tonnes or 39.6 billion m2, valued at US$7.8 billion. Growth rates for 2021–26 are forecast at 9.1% (tonnes), 8.1% (m2), and 9.1% ($), the Smithers’ study reports. The most common type of spunlace is the standard card-card spunlace, which is 2021 accounts for about 76.0% of all spunlace volume consumed.
Wipes
Wipes are already the major end-use for spunlace, and spunlace is the major nonwoven used in wipes. The global drive to reduce/eliminate plastics in wipes has spawned several new spunlace variants by 2021; this will continue to keep spunlace the dominant nonwoven for wipes through 2026. By 2026, wipes will grow its share of spunlace nonwovens consumption to 65.6%.
The report also highlights how COVID-19 has been a short-term, intense market driver that has had its primary effect in 2020-21. Most spunlace containing disposable products either saw significant increases in demand due to COVID-19 (for example, disinfecting wipes) or at least normal to slightly higher demand (for example, baby wipes, feminine hygiene components).
Mango further notes that years 2020-21 are not stable years for spunlace. Demand is recovering from significant surges in 2020 and early 2021 to a “correction” in demand in late 2021-22, back to more historical rates. The year 2020 saw margins well above the maximum average margin of 25% for some products and regions, while late 2021 is experiencing margins near the lower end of the range as end users work off bloated inventories. The years 2022-26 should see margins return to more normal rates.
Post time: Feb-26-2024