Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) market is projected to register a CAGR of over 9% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19 is likely to bring several short-term and long-term consequences in various industries, including a major impact on the construction industry, which may affect the glass fiber reinforced concrete market. Work stoppages due to the measures imposed by governmental authorities in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus and workforce shortages due to illness and preventative quarantines negatively affected the commercial, residential, infrastructural, and institutional sectors, thus, decreasing the demand for glass fiber reinforced concrete. For instance, the Indian office market witnessed a decline in 2020 after continuous growth over the past few years. According to JLL India, net absorption in 2020 dipped by 45% compared to 2019. New completions across seven major cities dipped by 30% to about 36.34 million sq. ft in 2020, compared to 51.62 million sq. ft in 2019. The residential sector’s sales also witnessed a decline. According to JLL India, the residential sales in seven major cities decreased from 143,923 in 2019 to 74,451 in 2020, thereby negatively affecting the market studied. Such decreases in demand from the commercial and residential construction sectors are expected to hinder the demand for GFRC during the short term.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, the increased emphasis on green buildings (LEED ratings), superior mechanical characteristics of GFRC (high strength-to-weight ratio), and the use of recycled material for the production of GFRC are expected to drive the market's growth.
• Premium pricing of GFRC, lack of ductility, and the lack of availability of skilled labor are expected to hinder the growth of the market studied.
• Emphasis on using fire-retardant building materials and the growing popularity of GFRC structural insulated panels are likely to act as opportunities to the market studied in the forecast period.

Key Market TrendsArchitecture Segment to Dominate the Market

• Glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) find its major application in the architecture segment, where it can be used in architectural cladding and moldings, landscaping, foundations and floors, roofing, walls, and windows.
• GFRC can be molded into a wide range of textures, shapes, and surface finishes. It is a true exterior cladding curtain wall (non-load-bearing); where panels are needed to provide the structure (i.e., parking lots) with structural support, precast panels are a safer option.
• GFRC panels are ideally suited for recladding the exterior facades of existing buildings due to their high strength, lightweight, and ability to reproduce the look of a wide variety of cladding materials.
• Properties, such as lightweight, environmentally friendly, and durable against extreme weather conditions, make GFRC ideal for landscaping. It might not be the most common gardening and landscaping material, but it is undeniably one of the most flexible and efficient.
• Floor slabs in buildings, either load-bearing or framed, can also be constructed using GFRC panels. In the case of the construction of GFRC floors in framed buildings, there are two options. One option is in which the panels are supported on the side forms of the beams. Then the panel with the cut for the microbeams is placed on the side shutters.
• Furthermore, for roofing hardware, like finishes, ridges, and chimneys, GFRC can be molded into complicated forms. With a strong impact force, it is non-combustible and can be used on all forms of the roof.
• In residential and commercial buildings, molded GFRC components, such as window sills, window surrounds, cornices, door portals, and columns, will add decoration while still serving practical needs.
• The growing construction industry is expected to drive demand for GFRC through the forecast period. For instance, the global construction industry was valued at about USD 12 trillion in 2019, with a growth rate of about 4%, compared to the previous year.
• The Asia-Pacific construction sector is the largest in the world, and it is increasing at a healthy rate, owing to the growing population, increase in middle-class incomes, and urbanization. This has accelerated the demand for hotels, shopping malls, high-rise buildings, arenas, and stadiums (both outdoor and indoor), in turn, boosting the construction industry, thus, driving the demand for GFRC in the region.
• In addition to this, Asia-Pacific has the largest low-cost housing construction segment, led by China, India, and various Southeast Asian countries. However, owing to various countries being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with continuously increasing cases, growth is expected to remain notably slow in the short run.
• For instance, in China, residential investment grew by about 13.9% during the first eleven months of 2019, reaching CNY 9,707.1 billion. The area under residential construction during the period was recorded to have reached 6,276.73 million square meters, indicating a 10.1% growth. While the country recorded newly constructed area of housing to have reached 2,271.54 million square meters during the period of January-November 2019, about 1,674.63 million square meters of housing area was accounted for under newly started residential, indicating an increase of 9.2%. However, residential construction is likely to marginalize as a result of the oversupply of housing units and the effects of COVID-19.
• In Germany, EUR 42.8 billion was invested across the country in the commercial property segment, resulting in an increase from the earlier year’s turnover by over 8%. This rapid surge in demand for German office space was driven by strong economic growth and increasing employment numbers, especially in the service sector.
• Besides, in recent years, investment activities have remained strong in airport constructions, with the Asia-Pacific and Middle-East and African (MEA) regions displaying exceptional growth in the sector.
• Therefore, the aforementioned factors are expected to show a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

North America Region to Dominate the Market

• North America was the largest market for glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC), with the United States leading the consumption.
• Glass fiber reinforced concrete is widely used in the construction and repair of buildings. They are used in the construction of foundations, roofing, floors, walls, and windows.
• The residential construction spending in the United States has improved over the years. In addition, growth is also being witnessed in housing repair and refurbishment activities. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies witnessed an upsurge in remodeling expenditures for housing in the United States. With the growing construction industry in the country, there is an increase in the number of new homes.
• In 2019, the total value of new construction put in place was about USD 1,365 billion in the United States and reached about USD 1,430 billion in 2020, with a growth rate of about 4.5%, which, in turn, increases the demand in the glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) market.
• ​According to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), residential houses construction was expected to jump 10% across 2020, with 1 million new homes expected to hit the market by the end of 2021. Although residential construction was expected to reduce due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which is likely to hit the GFRC market, growth is expected to pick up in the first half of 2021 and continue during the forecast period.​
• The construction sector of Canada witnessed progress. Owing to the increase in investments from the private and government sectors, the construction industry is expected to grow gradually over the forecast period.
• In 2019, the total residential and non-residential construction was valued at about USD 178 billion in Canada and reached about USD 174.5 billion in 2020, with a declining rate of about 2%, thereby negatively impacting the market demand.
• Furthermore, the government unveiled the first phase of its ambitious USD 42 billion National Infrastructure Plan for 2020-2024 to raise infrastructure investment to more than 5% a year and deliver more than 4% annual economic growth over the coming years. The construction industry was expected to recover and grow by 1.1% in 2020. However, the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic estimates limited the growth to less than 0.5% during the forecast period.
• In 2020, Mexico was expected to push ahead with three housing and urban development programs requiring MXN 7.7 billion (USD 310 million), with more than 100 confirmed projects to improve marginalized areas, boost the economy, and incentivize the troubled construction sector. This program is part of the government’s strategic plan to lift the economy out of the COVID-19 emergency. According to the government procurement site, Compranet, at least 15 projects to build sports complexes, schools, libraries, and other public spaces are expected to be launched in 2021.
• Therefore, the aforementioned factors are expected to show a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

Competitive Landscape

The glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) market is fragmented in nature. Some of the key players include Low & Bonar, BarChip Pty Ltd, GRCUK, FİBROBETON, and Formglas Products Ltd, among others.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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Companies Mentioned

IBM Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Internap Corporation
Packet Inc. (An Equinix Inc. Company)
Scaleway Inc.
Amazon Web Services Inc
Rackspace Inc.
CenturyLink, Inc.
LightEdge Solutions, Inc

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