Acoustic Insulation Market from 2020 and the Forecast for 2021
The acoustic insulation market provides an invaluable service for those whose careers or enjoyment depend on solid sound quality. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many people to work from home for the very first time. This means that while some were forced to outfit a home studio to be outside-noise-resistant, others did it so that their work wouldn’t disturb the rest of the inhabitants. Still, is this enough to salvage the damage that the pandemic is doing to industries across the board? Let’s find out!
Projected Growth in 2019-2024 Period
The first thing worth mentioning when talking about the acoustic insulation market size is its compound annual growth rate (CAGR). According to forecasts, the CAGR for the period 2019-2024 is expected to be around 3.77%. This means that during the same period, this industry should grow by $2.3 billion. Still, the biggest markets for acoustic insulation are places like APAC, the US, UK, and EU, which is a bit problematic. This is because these regions are currently facing the next wave of lockdowns and restrictive measures, which might offset the projections.
Most Relevant Factors for the Acoustic Insulation Market Report
In order to make an adequate and accurate acoustic insulation market report, one must set some basic perimeters.
First, there’s the issue of geographic regions that represent the biggest shares of the market. These regions are:
- APAC
- Europe
- North America
- South America
- MEA
Second, there’s the matter of various types of acoustic materials widely used across all industries. Some of them are:
- Stone wool
- Glass wool
- Foamed plastics
- Acoustic foam
- Perforated metal acoustic panels
Third, there’s the matter of end-user markets. Here, the biggest culprits are:
- Construction
- Industrial
- Transportation
When all of this is taken into consideration, the year-over-year growth rate for 2020 should come down to 2.45%. While this doesn’t sound as impressive, in the year where the majority of industries are underperforming, a growth of any kind sounds solid.
The Building and Construction Industry
If more people worked from home in 2020 than ever before, why do we even discuss the state of the global acoustic insulation market? Any graph is supposed to go up, right? Well, not necessarily. You see, the construction industry makes for a huge portion of the end-users market in the acoustics insulation industry. The impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector has been quite devastating in fields of residential and commercial construction. According to some estimates, the construction industry grew to a spending value of close to $12 trillion before the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift is bound to reflect on the acoustic insulation market.
Workplace remodeling and outfitting alone was also a significant sub-category in this field. For instance, a huge portion of the market goes to commercial and industrial acoustic flooring installations. While this is still necessary, during 2020 lockdowns and quarantine, workplace remodeling wasn’t always a priority – especially with almost everyone working from home.
Projections and forecasts
Projections for the construction industry itself are not that great, and this might put a dent in the acoustic insulation market in the nearest future.
Global construction output in 2020 was down by 3.1%. The fall is even worse because the previous forecast expected the industry to grow by 3.1%. Since growth in the construction sector is one of the key factors that drive the growth of this market, things are not looking good.
Moreover, since APAC is the biggest market for acoustic insulation, the fact that the economic effects of the pandemic are present there for quite a while has not made things easier.
Transportation Industry
Acoustic products are widely used in the transportation industry to dampen the sound of the machinery and external traffic noise. The problem is that the transportation industry breathes quite heavily under the yoke of COVID-19. First of all, urban mobility at some points during the period between March 2020 and February 2021 came down to merely 25% of what it was a year before. In some areas like New York, it was as low as 23%.
In terms of the effects on the automotive industry, different regions are bouncing back at different rates. For instance, the US is not expected to bounce back to its pre-COVID rates until 2023 (at least). China, on the other hand, rapidly accelerates with its rebound rate.
Since the transportation industry is one of the biggest end-user markets of soundproofing products, it’s clear that these massive shifts affect it greatly. Still, even with all of these encouraging signs, projections show that this industry may see negative and inferior growth in the nearest future.
Working From Home
Another thing worth taking into consideration is the phenomenon of working from home that the majority of people got to experience in 2020 for the very first time. Sure, the telecommuting market was always big, but it never came even close to its current rate.
To try and achieve the same level of productivity that they would have in a traditional office, these people had to make some adjustments to their living space. Industry analysts believe that in some cases, this leads directly to higher purchases of acoustic products by individual telecommuters.
The problem with investing in this type of renovation is in the fact that a lot of people are unsure of what will happen next. According to one US-based survey, around 71% of people work from home at the moment, compared to 20% of people who worked from home before this pandemic started. Most importantly, around 54% of these people would like to keep working from home even after the pandemic is over.
Soundproofing home office
Soundproofing one’s home office is a trend that can help increase one’s focus, as well as make cohabitation possible even when it’s that close to one’s work environment. There’s yet another interesting phenomenon that may turn out to be quite relevant for the acoustic insulation market.
With more time spent indoors and more people spending time at home, people are getting more and more interested in DIY soundproofing. For this to work, nonetheless, one has to be familiar with the technical aspect of the project. For instance, they need to know how many acoustic panels they need for their home office to become completely soundproof. They also need to look into the step-by-step installation process.
What Does the Future Hold?
In one of the previous sections, we mentioned that there’s projected growth by the year 2024. However, what happens next? Some estimates project that the value of this industry will reach 19.64 billion by the year 2027. The reason for this stellar growth can be explained by the rapid expansion of the automotive industry. Since these two industries are inseparable in today’s automotive manufacturing process, the insulation market size is expected to expand, as well.
In conclusion
The construction market and automotive market of the future are both oriented toward much higher customer satisfaction. Keep in mind that noise pollution is one of the biggest concerns in both of these markets. Therefore, these industries are expected to show increased interest in soundproofing materials and products.
At the moment, it seems as though the global acoustic insulation market is struggling due to the underperformance of its biggest end-user markets. Even against these odds, the acoustic market somehow manages to stay afloat. Once these markets make their rebound, the acoustic insulation industry is projected to return to the path of stellar growth once again.
FAQ
What is the worth of the global acoustic market?
In 2020, the global acoustic insulation market was worth $17.6 billion. The value of the market in 2019 was $12.9 billion, and the forecasted growth for 2020 was 5.3%. However, growth has somewhat diminished due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on related markets.
Is the acoustic market expected to grow in the following years?
By the year 2024, this market is expected to grow by $2.3 billion. Since both the construction industry and the transportation industry show a growing interest in this market, this growth is expected to pick up at an even greater pace by the year 2027.
What affects the growth of the global acoustic market?
The global acoustic market is affected by three sets of factors. The first is economic occurrences in regions of major significance (APAC, Europe, North America, etc.). The second is materials used for the insulation and their availability on the market. The third is the status of end-user markets (construction, transportation, and industrial).
What are some of the most popular acoustic products?
Acoustic foam panels are one of the flagships of the industry. Those who want to create a fully soundproof area might also look for acoustic enclosures, acoustical ceiling tiles, flooring underlays, and even acoustic window inserts. Depending on the objectives of the acoustic insulation project, combining numerous products may be necessary.
How has COVID-19 affected the acoustic insulation market?
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the acoustic industry has encountered a bit of a rough patch for the first time in years. Due to its reliance on the construction and transportation industries, the acoustic insulation market has undergone a slight rough patch. Still, due to the resilience of these industries, the majority of forecasts expect the acoustic insulation industry to return to the trend of growth in no time.
