World demand for exterior siding (or cladding) is forecast to climb 3.8 percent per year through 2010, according to a report from the Cleveland-based market research firm the Freedonia Group.
The study predicts China will record the largest gains of any national market and will surpass the U.S. to become the largest cladding market in the world. Sales growth is also expected to be strong in India and Russia, as well as in lower-volume markets in the developing world.
Globally, masonry and concrete cladding products are the most popular, accounting for more than two-thirds of all demand in 2005, with brick and tile being the single most widely used product type. Demand for metal, as well as concrete and stone siding, will register the strongest market gains through 2010, according to the report. Fiber cement siding will also rise at an above-average rate, driven by performance attributes that include resistance to moisture, fire, rot, warping and insect infestation; comparatively low cost and the ability to mimic the appearance of other cladding materials.
Residential building applications, which currently account for 65 percent of all siding sales, will continue to dominate world demand through 2010, although advances will be limited by a generally weak sales climate in the U.S. and a deceleration in the residential building construction activity in a number of other areas. Demand for cladding in nonresidential applications will expand at a faster pace, stimulated by a step-up in construction expenditures in Western Europe, Latin America and the Africa/Mideast region.