Jan 4 2011
The global economic turmoil that flattened the worldwide industrial sector during 2008 and 2009 severely impacted the zirconium market, especially during 2009.
The market dropped drastically by more than 34% in 2009 as compared to the market figures in 2008. The crisis led to over supply of the mineral, despite significant production cuts implemented by the producers. However, the market is expected to recover quickly and post a robust growth in 2010 and ensuing years, due to rise in demand for the mineral in the Asia-Pacific region, which represents the largest consumer of zirconium in the world. In addition, increasing efforts towards exploration of new mine reserves by manufacturers is poised to encourage the market growth.
Asia-Pacific represents the largest as well as fastest growing regional market for zirconium worldwide, as stated by the new market research report on Zirconium. Growing ceramic tile manufacturing operations that predominantly utilize zirconium continue to fuel market growth in the region. China, which represents the single largest consumer of zirconium in the world, is spearheading market growth in Asia-Pacific with sharp rise in demand for the mineral in various end-use applications. Asia-Pacific zirconium consumption is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 10% over the analysis period. Europe and the US represent other prominent markets.
Ceramics category comprising tableware, sanitary ware and tiles, constitutes the largest end-use segment. Ceramics is portended to retain its supremacy as the largest consumer while zirconium use in the TV Glass sector will be tempered due to increasing preference for new display methods such as liquid crystal displays/thin film transistors as against CRT. Other Applications category constitutes the fastest growing end-use segment of zirconium, with a CAGR of more than 9.0% over the analysis period.
Australia and South Africa hold huge reserves and represent the world’s largest suppliers of zirconium mineral concentrates. Other large zirconium producing nations include China, US, Indonesia, Ukraine, India, and Brazil. Over the years, zirconium production dynamics witnessed significant changes. In the 1970s, Australia’s output represented about 50% of global production, while the US accounted for 30% share. In later years, South Africa gained importance as a key producer following the development of the Richards Bay beach sands operation. In mid-2000s, a spike in demand for zircon fueled intense exploration and development activity of heavy-mineral sands, particularly in Australia, South Africa, the US, Kenya and Mozambique.
Zirconium demand is forecast to increase in the coming years due to worldwide nuclear resurgence. As demand is expected to increase, several countries are working on improving their production capacity of zirconium. However, few companies have the technology that is required for zirconium production. Further, huge capital investments and longer completion time for these projects hinder entry of new players. As new reactors are being built at an accelerated speed due to expected power shortage in several countries, zirconium industry needs to enhance its production targeted towards nuclear energy sector.
Major players profiled in the report include Alkane Resources Ltd., Allegheny Technologies Inc., Astron Advanced Materials Ltd., Astron Ltd., Australian Zircon NL, Bemax Resources Limited, E.I DuPont de Nemours and Company, Exxaro Resources Ltd., Foskor Ltd., Iluka Resources Limited, Luxfer Group, Namakwa Sands Ltd., Neo Material Technologies Inc., Richards Bay Minerals, Rio Tinto Plc, Sino Dragon New Energy Holdings Limited, Tosoh Corp., and Wah Chang.
The research report titled “Zirconium: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of the zirconium markets, impact of recession on the markets, current market trends, competitive scenario, key growth drivers, product overview, recent product introductions, recent industry activity, and profiles of major/niche global as well as regional market participants. The report provides annual sales estimates and projections for the years 2007 through 2015 for the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Key end-use segments analyzed include Ceramics, Refractories, Foundries, TV Glass, and Other Applications. Also, a seven-year (2000-2006) historic analysis is provided for additional perspective.