Polystyrene Foam Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Market Overview

The Global Polystyrene Foam Market is projected to register a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the first half of 2020, the construction industry was significantly affected. This, in turn, has unfavorably impacted the consumption of polystyrene foam. The market is projected to grow steadily, owing to increased building and construction activities in 2021.

• Over the short term, development of green construction, coupled with growing demand for polystyrene foam in the protective packaging applications in developed as well as emerging economies worldwide, are some of the driving factors augmenting growth of the market studied.
• However, volatility in raw material prices is a key factor anticipated to restrain growth of the target industry over the forecast period. Further, strict government regulation pertaining to use of polystyrene foam such as the ban on single-use foam products may hinder growth of the studied market.
• Nevertheless, emerging applications for polystyrene foam Emerging Applications in marine floatation and floating decks is likely to create lucrative growth opportunity for the global market soon.
• Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market and is also likely to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to rise in the consumption of polystyrene foam from infrastructure, construction, and packaging sectors in the counties of this region including China, Japan, and India.

Scope of the Report

Polystyrene foam is, commonly referred to as styrofoam and it is widely used as single-use consumer goods. Polystyrene foam is primarily composed of mor than 95% of air and around 5% plastic. It is widely used in range of end-use applications, owing to its superior properties including good damping properties, good thermal insulation, and light weight property. Some of the key applications of polystyrene foam includes lightweight protective packaging, home and appliance insulation, automobile parts, foodservice and food packaging, surfboards, roadway and roadbank stabilization systems among others. The polystyrene foam market is segmented by type, application, and geography. By type, the market is segmented into expandable polystyrene foam and extruded polystyrene foam. By application, the market is segmented into building and construction, packaging, and other applications. The report also covers the market size and forecasts for the polystyrene foam market in 15 countries across major regions. For each segment, the market sizing and forecasts have been done based on value (USD Million).

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Key Market Trends

Rising Demand for Polystyrene Foam in Various Building and Construction Applications

• Building and construction application segment dominated the polystyrene foam market in 2021, accounting for significant of the market share.
• The growth is attributed to growing consumption of polystyrene foam in thermal insulation applications, from residential and commercial construction, due to its durability, lightweight property, ease of installation, versatility, and water resistance capability.
• Expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) is widely used in the building and construction industry, due to its chemical inertness, insulation properties, and bacterial and pest resistance properties. It also provides numerous environmental benefits, including recycled content, reduced energy consumption, improved indoor air quality, and localized distribution owing to which it is used in green building constructions.
• EPS foam find range of applications as insulated panel systems for walls, facades, floors, and roofs in buildings. Further it is used in the construction of pontoons and marinas as flotation material and as a lightweight fill in road construction, which is thereby likely to contribute to the growth of the studied market. 
• Additionally, extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) offers unique properties of low water absorption and good compressive strength, due to which it is used as thermal insulation material in construction of foundations, basements, walls, roofs, floors, pipelines, and roads.
• Augmenting building and construction activities, and rising adoption polystyrene foam across the globe are among key factors driving growth of the target industry. For instance,
• As per the data published by US Census Bureau in 2021, the total value of residential housing during April 2020-2021 was USD 217,30 million over USD 178,362 million for FY 2019-2020, up by 21.8%. This trend is anticipated to continue and will boost growth of the target industry soon.​
• As per Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, (MLIT), the value of orders received for construction works in Japan was valued at JPY 15.1trillion in 2021 compared to JPY 14.88 trillion in 2020, thereby fuelling demand for polystyrene foam market.
• According to European Commission, in comparison to 2020, annual average construction production increased by 5.2% across the euro region and 4.8% in the EU in 2021. Furthermore, in December 2021 the UK monthly construction output increased by 2% as compared to the previous month. Thus, with the increasing building and construction activities, the demand for polystyrene foam will also significantly increase.
• Therefore, considering the aforementioned factors, the demand for polystyrene foam is expected to rise in the building and construction application segment significantly in near future.

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