Sanitary products (diapers), feminine hygiene products, industrial nonwovens and wipes will all drive further growth in world demand for nonwovens over the next five years. A new study by Smithers - The Future of Global Nonwovens to 2027 - projects total global consumption to reach 12.3 million tons in 2021, worth $51.86 billion, reflecting the market's good performance over the past two years. Surging demand for wipes, medical nonwovens and meltblown mask substrates offset a slowdown in demand in many industrial sectors due to manufacturing downtime during the peak of the epidemic in 2020.

By 2022, the total production of nonwovens will increase to 13.4 million tons, worth $56.39 billion. The experience of the outbreak will support future growth - demand for medical and higher grade PPE nonwovens will increase in the coming years as manufacturing capacity is reallocated to the strategic necessity of preventing repeat outbreaks.

Smithers tracks the expansion process of the entire market, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% in value terms from 2022 to 2027. This will generate a $77.84 billion market in 2027, consuming 18.65 million tons of nonwovens. During the Smithers forecast period, the total output will increase from 375.3 billion square meters to 544.1 billion square meters. With the introduction of new low gram weight substrates, the CAGR will be higher than the gross tonnage.

The experience of COVID-19 has reshaped the commercial pattern of nonwovens. Rising prices of raw materials and transportation will continue to be a top priority. In the medium term, with the reduction of the urgent demand for manufacturing protective masks, the supply of melt blown materials will exceed the demand.

The search for more sustainable and compostable nonwovens will lead to increased demand for lyocell, rayon and other non-polymer fibers for the next generation of nonwovens. The development of more sustainable substrates, including those based on cellulose or biopolymers, is once again a priority in several nonwovens segments. This aligns with brand owners' priorities in many consumer areas and with legislative requirements, including the implementation of the Single-Use Plastics Directive and new measures for wipe flushability.

Smithers's research tracks the market prospects of four major nonwovens processes (airflow, dry, dry, spinning and bonding), spanning 19 durable and one-time end-use applications.It suggests that spinning remains the most widely used nonwoven mesh process that —— is expected to account for 49.6% of all nonwovens consumed in 2022.Although highly dependent on polymer material —— is therefore facing pressure in sustainable development, —— spun-adhesion will continue to grow its market share.It will increase to a 55.2% market share (by quantity) by 2027, driven by the new demand for health products in developing markets (mainly Asia).

During this period, the demand for both wet and air laid nonwovens will be strong, but During this period, demand for both wet and airflow mesh nonwoven substrate will be strong, but there is be capacity shortage by 2025 unless new airflow mesh lines are built.

Although the demand growth of dry laid is still healthy, it will lag behind the market average level. In the field of wet laid, there will be some specific market opportunities from 2022 to 2027, including greater demand for double crepe (DRC) in wipes and special wet netting as battery diaphragms in the booming electric vehicle segment.

With the continuous development of Nonwovens Market, more attention will be paid to a more intelligent supply chain and improve visibility, communication and inventory management, all of which will help to improve efficiency.

All of these market trends have been critically and unparalleled detailed analyzed and quantified in the new Smithers Report Global Nonwovens future of —— 2027.More than 130 data provide historical, current, and predicted data (by value, yield area, and weight) tables and figures.This is segmented by raw material type; nonwoven mesh process; end-use applications; and geographic areas, including 13 leading national markets.