Skip to main content

Study predicts world asphalt demand to approach 120million tonnes by 2015

Global consumption of asphalt is forecast to rise 4.1% annually from a 2010 base to 119.5million tonnes in 2015, according to a new leading market research firm study. The volume predicted in World Asphalt, a new study from The Freedonia Group based in Cleveland, the United States, is equivalent to 725million barrels of primary asphalt. High petroleum prices combined with economic weakness and declining construction activity is said by Freedonia to have resulted in a significant drop in consumption in
April 23, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Global consumption of asphalt is forecast to rise 4.1% annually from a 2010 base to 119.5million tonnes in 2015, according to a new leading market research firm study.

The volume predicted in World Asphalt, a new study from The 2821 Freedonia Group based in Cleveland, the United States, is equivalent to 725million barrels of primary asphalt.

High petroleum prices combined with economic weakness and declining construction activity is said by Freedonia to have resulted in a significant drop in consumption in many of the world’s most developed asphalt markets over the 2005 to 2010 period. The new study says demand in these markets, including North America, Western Europe and Japan, is expected to improve until 2015.

World Asphalt forecasts sales gains will be most rapid in North America, where the market for asphalt is expected to expand 6.5% per annum to 36.6million tonnes in 2015. The study says demand for asphalt in both paving and roofing applications will be driven by the recovering US economy and increasing construction activity in the country.

The massive infrastructure development programmes in China and India, two of the world’s fastest growing economies, is seen by the Freedonia study to be the key to forecasted strong growth in the Asia/Pacific region. Since 2005, the region has become the largest market for asphalt.  China alone will account for nearly one-fifth of global asphalt demand in 2015. Strong growth in asphalt markets in India and a moderate recovery in demand for asphalt in Japan will also contribute to gains, according to the study.

Meanwhile, consumption of asphalt in Western Europe is forecast to increase 1.8% annually until 2015 to over 22million tonnes. The region is tipped by the study to construct new roads at “one of the slowest paces in the world”.  Paving asphalt consumed in road repair and maintenance applications is forecast to account for the majority of gains. Western Europe is also predicted to post the slowest growth in the world for asphalt consumed in roofing markets, reflecting the slowest regional growth in building construction spending.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Demand for off-road equipment featuring state-of-the-art technologies to fuel rising unit sales to US$481bn this year
    April 26, 2022

    According to a new report by Freedonia, investment in new and replacement off-road equipment featuring state-of-the-art technologies will fuel unit sales growth of 5.5% between 2021 and 2022 to $481 billion, slightly above 2019 levels.

  • Cummins sets new quarterly record
    November 6, 2023
    The US-headquartered global off-highway machine engine giant posted a 15% year-on-year revenue rise to US$8.4 billion.
  • The bitumen market is changing globally and products is being transported further
    August 21, 2014
    Political and economic changes around the world are impacting on the way bitumen is supplied and used - Kristina Smith reports on the Argus Europe Bitumen conference in Rome, and highlights some of the new technologies being launched to address these changes Attendees at the Argus Europe Bitumen Conference, held in Rome on 11th and 12th June heard how the global bitumen market is changing. More refineries are expected to close in Europe; the US, with its shale oil, is dominating bitumen supply to some re
  • Develop the Silk Roads, boost economic growth
    February 28, 2012
    Tony Pearce, honorary life member and former director-general of IRF Geneva, recalls the history of the Silk Roads, highlights their continued economic relevance and introduces IRF's active long-term commitment to their rehabilitation. The Silk Roads had their origins in a Chinese military mission in 138BC to purchase horses in Central Asia's Fergana Valley that were reputed to run so fast that they sweated blood. When General Chang Ch'ien reached Fergana, now in Uzbekistan, he found that the fabled horses