EDANA 2009 nonwoven production statistics

EDANA, the international Association serving the nonwovens and related industries released its statistics on Nonwovens Production and Deliveries for 2009. The figures for Greater Europe (Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and CIS) show that as a result of the recent economic conditions, but also of the industry’s effort to provide lighterweight nonwovens (using less material) with the same function, the production of nonwovens has contracted in weight by 6.3% since 2008, with 1,609,819 tonnes of nonwovens produced in 2009. This compares with the growth in the industry for 2008 of 1.2%.

After several years of double digit growth, the weight of nonwovens sold to the personal care wipes market declined in 2009, but sales remained stable in terms of surface area, with minimal growth recorded. While total production figures, by weight, have fallen, the level of production in square metres did continue to grow (nearly 51,000 million in 2009). According to a comparison of a select group of companies in 2008 and 2009, the average price of nonwovens remains nearly unchanged 2008 to 2009. The total turnover of the industry is estimated at around €4,790 million.

Jacques Prigneaux, EDANA’s Market Analysis and Economic Affairs Director stated that “While trade flows for both exports and imports slowed in 2009, the EU27 trade balance of nonwovens roll goods was still highly positive, in both volume and in value. Moreover, for each subcategory of nonwovens, EU27 is still a net exporter. This positive trade balance helped contain the unfavourable trade balance of the overall European textile industry.”

The most significant decrease in tonnage has been recorded in polymer-based (spunmelt) nonwovens. In addition, despite a small decrease of nearly 2% of nonwoven deliveries (in tonnes) to the hygiene business, this segment remains by far the largest outlet of the industry and increased its market share both in weight and surface area in 2009.

After several years of double digit growth, the amount of nonwovens sold to the personal care wipes market declined in 2009, but sales remained stable with minimal growth recorded.

While the largest contractions were observed in civil engineering, home furnishing, industrial wipes and automotive, medical applications recorded notable positive development.