Skip to main content

World asphalt demand to grow 3.6% a year until 2017

World demand for asphalt will grow by 3.6% annually until 2017, according to Cleveland market research company The Freedonia Group. This follows a decline in demand between 2007 and 2012 in North America and Western Europe, during the global economic crisis. “Gains will be driven by especially strong growth in consumption in China and other developing countries as they work to improve their transportation infrastructures,” said Freedonia analyst Mariel Behnke.
March 4, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
World demand for asphalt will grow by 3.6% annually until 2017, according to Cleveland market research company The 2821 Freedonia Group. This follows a decline in demand between 2007 and 2012 in North America and Western Europe, during the global economic crisis.

“Gains will be driven by especially strong growth in consumption in China and other developing countries as they work to improve their transportation infrastructures,” said Freedonia analyst Mariel Behnke.

Asphalt demand in North America declined by 5.8% a year between 2007 and 2012. From 2012 to 2017, Freedonia forecasts annual growth of 3.6%. Asia-Pacific continued to grow between 2012 and 2017, with a 5.8% annual growth, a rate which is forecast to slow to 4.7% up to 2017.

Maintenance of North America’s massive regional network of roads and highways will drive demand in that region. And in many parts of Western Europe there is a huge backlog of maintenance work to tackle.

The Asia-Pacific region has overtaken North America as the world’s largest market for asphalt, driven mainly by China and India, according to Freedonia’s report ‘World Asphalt’ which was published as Conexpo got underway. China uses over 20% of the world’s asphalt, and is set to become the world’s biggest asphalt user by 17%, a position currently occupied by the US.

Though China is still building roads now, growth will slow as its national infrastructure programmes come to an end and the country moves to smaller road construction jobs and maintenance of its existing networks. Demand in India and other developing Asian countries will grow, predicted Freedonia, as they push on with large public works projects.
%$Linker: 2 Asset <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 2 43686 0 oLinkExternal www.freedoniagroup.com Visit Freedonia Group Website false /EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=43686 false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • World Bank finances Uzbekistan road development
    July 7, 2015
    The World Bank will grant Uzbekistan a US$200 million loan for 25 years, including a grace period of five years. The funds will go towards the $240 million Regional Roads Development project that is scheduled to be completed by 2021, according to UzDaily.uz. Uzbekistan’s government also reported that around 117km roads were built in the first half of this year.
  • IRF partners with China Summit, focussing on New Silk Road
    June 8, 2015
    The IRF has partnered with a key Chinese summit, focussing on capacity building for the new Silk Road project. During the three day International Highway Technology Summit, billed as China’s largest and most influential highway knowledge platform, the International Road Federation chaired a flagship multi-country panel discussion on China's new Silk Road Economic Belt programme. In addition, the IRF organised training workshops on forgiving roads and asset management applications. The event drew together
  • US driving distances see continued increase
    September 6, 2017
    New data released by the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that US driving topped 2.53 trillion kilometres in the first six months of 2017. This continues a streak of steadily increasing vehicle distances travelled that began in 2011.
  • INTERMAT launch for Ammann’s AF-350 asphalt pavers
    January 6, 2017
    AFW350 and AFT350 are the latest medium-sized asphalt pavers from Ammann and are said to offer good manoeuvrability in confined areas. The hydrostatically driven machines offer a paving width from 1.8-3.5metres and the output potential of up to 230tonnes/hour. A wide range of optional equipment is available to improve paver performance. These include a vibratory screed or a tamping/vibratory screed that can be heated with either gas or electricity, and automatic lighting and temperature control functions.