Gypsum industry news

Germany: Chemicals company BASF's sales fell by 19% year-on-year to €37.3bn in the first half of the 2024 financial year (FY2024). Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 34% to €4.72bn. As a result, the company now anticipates full-year sales of €73 – 76bn in FY2024, down from the previously forecast €84 – 87bn. It revised its earnings forecast to €4 – 4.4bn, from €4.8 – €5.4bn previously. At the same time, it increased its anticipated reduction in CO₂ emissions for the year. It now expects to generate 17 – 17.6Mt of CO₂ from its operations, down from its previously forecast 18.1 – 19.1Mt.

North America: Market research company IMARC Group has quantified the North American gypsum wallboard market at 2.9Bnm² in 2023. In a report detailing the outlook for the nine years up to 2032, IMARC Group forecast a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6%, resulting in sales volumes of 3.6Bnm² in 2032.

US: The producer price index (PPI) of gypsum building materials ended September 2022 at a new all-time high of 351, up by 20% year-on-year from 292 in September 2021. The figure doubled decade-on-decade from 177 in September 2012. In the shorter term, it rose by 12% from 315 over the six-month period from March 2022, and by 3.8% from 338 over the three-month period from June 2022.

World: Market research and consulting services provider Exactitude Consultancy has projected a composite annual growth rate in global gypsum demand of 4.2% between 2022 and 2029. The consultancy forecast that the market would reach US$2.14bn in value at the end of the period, up by 45% from US$1.48bn in 2021.

China: China National Building Material (CNBM) expects its profit to decline by 50% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2022. The group said that this will be due in part to reduced gypsum wallboard sales and a 'substantial' decline in the value of its financial assets.

World: Market researcher IMARC Group has forecast a global gypsum wallboard market composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% between 2021 and 2026. The prediction is based on a starting value of US$24.4bn in 2020. IMARC Group surmises that the residential sector will dominate demand, which will be strongest in the Asia Pacific region.

Brazil: Saint Gobain has predicted a 40% year-on-year turnover increase from its Brazilian operations to US$2.63bn in 2021. It said that it expects demand for its products from civil construction to have accounted for 67% of its income for the year.

In 2021, Saint-Gobain invested a total of US$52.6m in its Brazilian operations, consisting of 56 sites. It aims to increase its total income by 15% in 2022 compared to 2021 levels. During the year, it plans to commission a new gypsum wallboard plant at Mogi das Cruzes in São Paulo.

World: Market researcher Future Market Insights (FMI) has estimated that the global market for gypsum for all applications will record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% between 2022 and 2030. FMI said that this will be due to a global rise in construction, driven by digitisation and technological advances. In order for growth to return, economic activity must first return to ‘normal’ in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to FMI.

Research agency Technavio has also given its forecast for growth in the synthetic gypsum market between 2020 and 2024. It has predicted a CAGR of 4%, with total growth of US$320m over the period.

US: Mineral Technologies has estimated that its total full-year gypsum and lime products sales will rise by 6% year-on-year in 2021 to US$330m from US$310m in 2020. It attributed the anticipated rise to a reordering of its operations away from restrictive Covid-19 containment measures and the return of demand growth to its markets. Business Research Company Reports has reported that the global lime and gypsum products market was worth US$55.2bn in 2020, of which Mineral Technologies held a 0.6% share.

Oman: Zawawi Minerals has published a report in which it forecasts 11% year-on-year growth in gypsum exports, to 10.0Mt in 2020 from 9.00Mt in 2019. The report notes that Oman’s consistent supply of gypsum makes it the most important supplier to the Asian and South/East African regions. It contrasts the fitness of the Omani gypsum sector for exports with that of Pakistan, where bilateral trade with neighbouring India has been suspended since 7 August 2019.