Demand for specialty glass to rise in the U.S.

Specialty glass demand is projected to increase 5 percent annually to $7.2 billion in 2012, according to a recent study, Advanced Flat Glass, by the Freedonia Group, Cleveland.

“Our growth projection for overall flat glass demand in the U.S. is 0.7 percent annually to 6.1 billion square feet in 2012,” says Bill Baumgartner, industry analyst, Freedonia, Cleveland. “We estimate that production will increase 0.9 percent per year to 6.8 billion square feet in 2012.”

Overall, total demand for basic flat glass will benefit in both architectural and motor vehicle markets, Baumgartner says. “In the former, growth will be sparked primarily by an expected recovery in new home building activity,” he says. “In the latter, gains will derive from increased glass use on a per vehicle basis and a turn-around in U.S. motor vehicle production, which will increase through 2012.”

Gains in specialty glass will derive from a variety of factors, including the recovery of residential building construction activity from a weak 2007 base, ongoing rapid growth in a variety of emerging technologies, such as smart glass and self-cleaning glass, and strong gains in laminated glass used as hurricane glass, ballistic glass and burglary resistant glass, according to the study. Security and safety glass products accounted for 62 percent of total specialty glass demand in 2007.

Solar control flat glass, the second largest group of specialty flat glass products, will continue to post above average growth through 2012, according to the study. The commercial roll-out of suspended particle device smart glass technologies is now expected to occur, sparking well above average growth for the category through 2012. Other types of solar control glass, such as low-E glass and reflective glass, will post slower but nonetheless strong growth.

“The strongest gains [in specialty glass] will be registered in product areas which currently are comparatively small, such as smart glass, self-cleaning glass and heads-up display windshield glass,” Baumgartner says. “Other strong performers will include a few more established products, such as electrochromic motor vehicle mirrors and laminated glass. The latter is seeing growing use as a replacement for tempered glass in motor vehicles; as hurricane glass and as ballistic and anti-burglary glass.”

The primary market for specialty flat glass remains motor vehicle production, which accounted for more than 50 percent of total demand in 2007, according to the study.