Brazilian consumption of composites fell 4.2% in the first half of 2022
For the year as a whole, the sector represented by ALMACO expects a reduction of 2.5%.
In the first half of 2022, Brazilian consumption of composites fell by 4.2%, totalling 117 thousand tons. Total revenue was US$ 359 million, 17% higher than that recorded between January and June 2021. The mismatch between consumption and revenue is due to successive increases in raw material prices. The data are part of a survey carried out by the Latin American Composite Materials Association (ALMACO).
“This result means much more an accommodation of demand, after the explosion in 2020 and 2021, than a fall itself,” evaluates Erika Bernardino Aprá, president of ALMACO.
According to ALMACO survey, in the first half of 2022, civil construction accounted for 30.9% of Brazilian consumption of composites, ahead of transport (24.7%), corrosion/sanitation (17.5%), leisure/pools (12.4%), electric energy (5.2%), wind energy (3.1%), marine (2.1%) and clothing (1%), among others. When only the consumption of epoxy resin-based composites is separated, the generation of wind energy led with 90.5%, ahead of oil (3.8%) and electronics (2.7%).
“The drop in demand from the construction and leisure market, the latter represented mainly by swimming pools, was partially mitigated by the good phase of the transport industry, especially road buses, whose sales increased after the resumption of post-pandemic tourism,” comments Erika .
For 2022 as a whole, ALMACO study points to a retraction in consumption of around 2.5%, which will total 239 thousand tons. In terms of revenue, the Brazilian composites sector should register US$ 922 million this year, a figure 20% higher than that recorded in 2021.
“The second half of the year is historically better for our industry than the first. Added to this is the start of major projects in the area of corrosion, a movement that will positively impact many companies in the composites production chain,” adds the president of ALMACO.
