Noteworthy trends and dynamics of Mexico’s synthetic latex polymers market were spotlighted in our latest webinar, including positive performance coming from market segments such as automotive and architectural coatings and challenges in some of the more price-driven areas.
According to Carlos Galan, Market Analyst for Kline’s Chemicals Practice, “Consumers in Mexico are significantly more price-sensitive than consumers in the United States and Canada. Across many applications, such as adhesives and sealants, and paints and coatings, low-price polymers are preferred. And the pandemic reinforced this preference. The synthetic latex polymer market in Mexico had been growing over the last decade at a faster pace than in the rest of the North America region, but, in 2020, the market observed a significant decline due to COVID-19.”
Water-based polymers penetration is also significantly different in Mexico compared to the United States and Canada. While the shift toward water-based products is already mature in the U.S. and Canada, Mexico is still observing the ongoing trend, especially within inks and coatings. When it comes to paints and coating applications, COVID-19 had a mixed effect. “The architectural segment benefited from home improvement trends, resulting in the growth of both interior and exterior coatings,” said Galan, who was joined for the webinar by Industry Manager Shilpi Mehrotra. “On the other hand, industrial coatings declined – [although] this trend was observed across the whole North American region.”
Meanwhile, COVID-19 also weakened the construction as residential construction suffered from a high unemployment rate and civil engineering suffered from low public investment. However, in 2021, there was an improvement as projects that were postponed in 2020 were resumed.
Looking forward, according to Galan, some areas of opportunities within the synthetic plastics polymer market in Mexico can be found in the leather industry, as the country is a worldwide leader in this industry.
“Leather is used in applications such as automotive, which is an important sector in the country,” he said. “Furthermore, Mexico is one of the top exporters of leather products. The leather industry, which did not recover to pre-pandemic levels, is expected to observe the fastest growth, driven by the overall industry recovery and the increased demand of leather goods within the also-growing automotive industry.”
Another opportunity, said Galan, can be found in paints and coatings. “Even if vinyl acrylic-based paints and coatings dominate the market, and are expected to continue dominating it, higher-quality paints and coatings based on pure acrylics are becoming more and more popular within the architectural segment,” he said. In addition, Galan noted that aerospace and original equipment manufacturing are growing industries in Mexico and is expected to drive demand for glass fiber.
To discover more about Mexico’s synthetic latex polymers market from Galan and Mehrotra – and the North American market as a whole – request a copy of our new webinar, North American Synthetic Latex Polymers: Reassuring Growth – Navigating Obstacles & Opportunities from the Pandemic. In addition, check out our recently published Synthetic Latex Polymers: North America Business Analysis and Opportunities report, a comprehensive study of the markets of all the synthetic latex polymer chemistries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
