Sewage systems have been around for about 5000 years. However, not everywhere: In France, for instance, more than 5 million households are not connected to the public sewage network. In rural areas in particular, the sewage infrastructure in Europe still has to be expanded. In the cities, it is less about new construction than about replacing old piping systems. For sewage, potable water, cable protection, gas piping, and other applications, pipes made of plastic are becoming more and more popular: They are light-weight, robust, and handy; they are increasingly replacing aluminum, concrete cast iron, copper or steel. The analysts forecast European demand to increase to over 5.2 million tonnes until 2024.
Polyethylene and PVC Are in the Lead
The demand for plastic pipes particularly depends on the development of the construction industry. For the construction industry, plastic turned into a real alternative to other materials. The degree of importance various applications areas have for different types of pipes, however, varies considerably. For example, pipes made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are relatively cheap and are thus used extensively in the sewage, potable water, and cable protection sectors. Pipes based on polypropylene and polyethylene play a more and more important role in the applications potable water, gas supply, and industry. The most important product types in 2016 were polyethylene and PVC.
Political Piping
Everywhere, plastic pipes compete with pipes made of steel, stoneware or other materials. In some countries, decreasing public expenditure, political uncertainties or missing private investments can have similarly drastic effects on the construction industry and the pipe market as targeted support for single construction segments. The intensity of the promotion of investments in the segment irrigation or the expansion of the fiber optic network varies also from country to country.
Regional Differences
The demand for high-quality pipes made of polypropylene and polyethylene is particularly increasing on the relatively saturated markets in Western Europe, while the demand for PVC pipes is barely growing. In Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, for instance, the demand for plastic pipes is developing positively. Some southern European countries, however, such as Spain, are not expected to see any significant recovery in the short term. In Eastern Europe, PVC pipes are experiencing even higher growth compared to the West. The analysts at Ceresana expect higher growth rates of plastic pipe consumption for Eastern Europe in the future, especially because the networks for water supply and sewage continue to have a high backlog demand.
Further information: www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/industry/plastic-pipes-europe/