Spunlaid Polypropylene Capacity and Demand Outlook 2020 - 2025

The nonwoven industry begins 2020 facing a variety of opportunities and challenges.  Rising capacity, brought about by the installation of new highly advanced technology, will enter the market during 2020- - 2021 against a backdrop of slowing economic growth in many global regions.  While an economic slowdown was expected to occur after an extended period of growth, it was further fueled by trade tensions and tariffs between the U.S. and China. This, in combination with low birthrates and now health care concerns over the Coronavirus, place further pressure on utilization of capacity entering the market.  Moreover, the business is faced with challenges to adopt sustainable raw materials in advance of looming governmental regulations.

Still, the spunlaid polypropylene nonwoven business has made great strides in developing new, more highly productive and reliable manufacturing technology and a variety of product innovations attractive to end use consumers.  Producers of this technology around the world continue to install the most modern generation of technology to gain product and productivity benefits, notwithstanding the impac