What’s Fuelling the Demand for Functional Films in Asia Pacific?

The use of functional films to provide a more improved functionality to products is growing in many end-use industries. Functional films require less energy in their processing and they can be fabricated according to the requirement. In this article, we will take a look at the key drivers, restrains, and key trends in the global functional films market.

Factors Fuelling the Demand for Functional Films

Innovation in Consumer Electronics

The consumer electronics industry has witness a host of changes in the past decade or so. Smartphones have become ubiquitous and LCD/LED TVs are experiencing a new wave of growth. Owing to the innovation in the consumer electronics, the demand for functional films for use in semiconductor chips and integrated circuits is growing. Traditional films have limited functionalities, and owing to this, the demand for functional films have witnessed a surge in the recent past.

Growth of the Solar Cells Market

Solar cell industry is a major end-use application segment for functional films. The fortunes of the functional films market are dependent to a large extent on the growth in this sector. In the recent past, solar cells have witnessed increased demand owing to emphasis on developing renewable sources of energy. Governments around the world are looking to upgrade their existing solar plants. The growth in the solar cells market is anticipated to fuel the functional films market in the near future.

Resurgence in Automotive Sector

Functional films are used in the automotive sector for window profiles, decorative purposes, wheel arches, control arms, steering knuckles, etc. Although the automotive industry in the developed world is witnessing a phase of saturation, emerging markets in Asia Pacific, especially China and India, are providing growth opportunities. Demand for functional films from the automotive sector is anticipated to catalyse the growth of the functional films market in the future.

Increased Demand from Packaging Sector

Functional films are preferred over other films owing to their various advantages. Functional films are lightweight, resistant to water and oxygen, and they can be used with the help of recycled materials. These properties make functional films an excellent choice in the packaging industry. Steady growth in the global packaging sector has increased the demand for functional films, and this trend is expected to become more pronounced in the future.

Functional Films Market in Asia Pacific

While the global functional films market was valued at US$ 20.89 Bn in 2014, Asia Pacific accounted for nearly US$ 14 Bn out of that. The market share of Asia Pacific in the global functional films market was a whopping 67%.

Presence of manufacturing units is one of the key reasons why Asia Pacific dominates the global functional films market. China and India are the two fastest growing economies in the world and sustained demand from these two countries is fuelling the demand for functional films in the region.

Another reason for the high demand for functional films in Asia Pacific is the resurgent automotive sector. In developed world, most people have at least one vehicle per family, and consumers gradually move to buy a more advanced vehicle. In Asia Pacific, motorcycles and scooters are used by many as a means of transport, and a vast majority of population is still looking to buy their first car. Owing to the opportunity in the region, many OEMs are introducing cost-effective variants and the sustained demand from consumers is creating opportunities for the stakeholders in the functional films market.

Browse Full: "Functional Films Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015 - 2020" Market Research Report at http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/details/functional-films-market