Demand for Plastic Lumber to Rise
US demand for wood-plastic composite and plastic lumber is projected to advance over 13 percent per year to $5.4 billion in 2015, creating a market for 2.6 billion pounds of plastic. Advances will be driven by a rebound in construction expenditures from a depressed 2010 base. Growth will be further boosted by increasing consumer demand for building products made from composite and plastic lumber, instead of more traditional materials, such as natural wood. These and other trends are presented in Wood-Plastic Composite & Plastic Lumber, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Decking, which was the leading application for composite and plastic lumber in 2010, will experience the most rapid demand advances through 2015. Among other applications, molding and trim, and windows and doors are expected to post the most rapid demand gains through 2015. Demand for composite and plastic lumber in landscape and outdoor products, fencing and other applications will be promoted by increasing consumer recognition of the performance properties of these materials.

Demand for wood-plastic composite lumber will post more rapid gains than that for plastic lumber through 2015, advancing over 16 percent annually to $2.5 billion. Moreover, because wood-plastic composite lumber incorporates recycled materials, it is seen as an environmentally friendly building material.

Plastic lumber demand is forecast to rise nearly eleven percent per year to $2.8 billion in 2015. The efforts of manufacturers to create plastic lumber with more realistic woodgrain textures and surfaces will help support demand.

For more information, contact Corinne Gangloff, The Freedonia Group, Inc., 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland, OH 44143, 440-684-9600, Fax: 440-646-0484, E-mail: pr@freedoniagroup.com, Web: www.freedoniagroup.com.