Growth in this industry is primarily driven by trends in key wood protection product applications such as furniture, decking, and siding. Because many of these applications are closely tied to construction activity levels, rebounds in both new and improvement and repair construction spending will propel sales of wood coatings and preservatives.
The ongoing adoption of higher priced versions—such as combined paint and primer or stain and sealer coating products—will also boost value gains. Even faster growth for wood protection products will be restrained by pressures on the market base of wood products. For instance, wood faces competition from alternative materials, such as woodplastic composites and plastics, which are often more durable and require less maintenance.
Additionally, newer types of wood protection products last longer and are effective with fewer coats or less initial treatment, further restraining volume gains.
Coatings (such as stains, paints, sealers, primers) account for the majority of wood protection product demand, with stains and paints holding the two largest shares. Re-coatings for maintenance projects account for the larger share of the market than do coatings used on new products.
Maintenance uses helped support sales of coatings during the recession and slow recovery between 2008 and 2013, even as demand for new coatings fell over that period. Through 2018, improvements in new construction and consumer spending trends will boost increases in demand for wood protection coatings, particularly for new uses.
Preservatives, which are applied to lumber by wood treatment companies, account for the smaller portion of wood protection demand. Although alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) was initially the most popular substitute for chromate copper arsenate (CCA) in residential end uses, copper azole's share of demand grew to account for the largest share of preservative sales by 2013. Sales were fuelled in particular by the availability of micronised formulations, which are less corrosive than conventional versions.