Nonwoven Fabrics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Material (Polyester, Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Rayon, Wood Pulp, Other Materials), By Technology (Spun-bond, Wet-laid, Dry-laid, Other Technologies), By Application (Hygiene, Medical, Filtration, Automotive, Construction, Others), By Function (Disposables, Durables) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2022-2030

Market Overview

The global nonwoven fabrics market size was valued at USD 41.6 billion in 2021. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 67.93 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period (2022–2030). Increased competition for nonwoven in the healthcare sector and favorable global dynamics to boost the nonwoven textiles industry drive the market growth.

Nonwoven fabric is a material made from staple fibers and long fibers, bound together by chemicals, mechanics, heat, or solvent treatment. The growing application base in the healthcare and personal care field, together with increased demand from the automotive industry, is anticipated to push the analyzed market.

Market Dynamics

Global Nonwoven Fabrics Market Driver

Favorable Global Dynamics to Boost the Growth of Nonwoven Textiles Industry

Although the fertility rate is decreasing at a slower pace in several regions worldwide, the population of children in Asia-Pacific is estimated to increase in the coming decades, as per data provided by the UN Population Division. This would be mainly attributed to China's one-child policy and rising birth rates in Southeast Asian countries. The rising infant population in developing countries with per capita GDP over USD 1,000 is expected to raise the region's demand for disposable diapers. Developing markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are projected to be the fastest-growing markets with comparatively low penetration of disposable slides and high birth rates.

While the Chinese production of nonwoven fabrics is high, per capita consumption in the country is much lower than that of developed regions. The rising demand for infant diapers is increasing the region's market for spun-bond propylene nonwoven fabric. In developed areas, the aging population's demographic trend is expected to fuel demand for adult incontinence products. According to data from the United Nations, regions with high GDP per capita, such as North America, Japan, and Europe, are experiencing decreasing fertility rates.

The share of the elderly population in these regions is rising overall. Subsequently, the percentage share of the older people in the overall population in these regions is rising. Mounting the aging population in these well-developed regions is projected to fuel nonwoven adult incontinence products' demand over the prediction period, thereby catalyzing the development's nonwoven fabrics market.

Increased Competition for Nonwoven in the Healthcare Sector

Nonwoven fabric is being used in the healthcare sector to manufacture different products, such as surgical gowns, aprons, drapes, face mask materials, and wound dressings. These are often found in items related to sanitation, such as hygiene products, sanitary napkins, panty liners, diaper wipes, and napkin liners. The application has increased as these products are introduced with reduced usage costs in cost-sensitive hospitals. Moreover, attributable to the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for nonwoven face masks has risen astronomically to deter the virus's transmission. This has resulted, at an unprecedented rate, in the growing demand for nonwoven fabrics worldwide. Moreover, the main driving forces for this demand are rising surgery and modern surgical facilities.

Heightening Demand for Lightweight and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Positively Influencing the Market

Automotive manufacturers worldwide are striving to reduce vehicle weight to produce cars that are fuel-efficient and low-CO2 emission. The need for lightweight and high-resistance materials for interior applications is therefore growing. Nonwoven fabrics are 15%-20% lighter than other competing materials and can decrease a car's weight by up to 2 kg. Besides, they also improve vehicle comfort and safety. These advantages have promoted the use of nonwoven materials in over 40 applications in most automobiles, such as filters, carpets, and battery separators. Nonwoven filtration is also used in cars lowers CO2 emissions and helps make an eco-safe car, aside from innovation and environmental performance. Other important factors driving the market for non-woven cloth fabrics in the automotive industry are the emergence of technological advancements in vehicles and reduced model lifecycles.

Technological advances have spurred the textile industry, especially for nonwoven fabrics, to see high growth in most of its product segments. New technologies are intended to reduce production costs, making nonwoven textile manufacturing commercially feasible. Nanofiber integration and high-performance material innovations are developing as alternatives to conventional membranes, opening new markets for nonwoven producers.Advanced fibers such as polylactic acid (PLA) derived from vegetable starch or corn, and wood-derived viscose consider environmental regulations and allow innovative products for customers. The practical introduction of these product lines onto the global market is expected to provide market participants with future opportunities. Owing to the key advantages of random fibrous structure, low traceability, and high liquid retention, spun-laid technology is projected to see notable growth. Furthermore, due to the high tear strength of the commodity, increased consumption of spun-laid nonwoven in applications such as industrial insulation and metal core packaging is expected

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis has been made considering the nonwoven fabrics market trends in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

Asia-Pacific Dominated the Global Nonwoven Fabrics Market

Asia-Pacific is projected to dominate the nonwoven fabrics market mainly due to increased capacity pf commissioning, and growing adoption of female hygiene products in countries like India and China, coupled with an upsurge in nonwoven fabric production. Also, factors such as enhancing the global economy, increasing the workforce, increased domestic demand for hygiene products are further expected to boost the nonwoven fabrics industry. Regional demand for nonwoven fabrics is growing in the automotive, agricultural, geotextile, industrial/military,medical/healthcare, and construction sectors attributing to the specific functional properties of nonwoven fabrics, such as hygiene and protection, cost-effectiveness, durability, strength, lightweight, flexibility, user-friendliness, eco-friendliness, and logistical convenience.

In terms of consumption and production of nonwoven fabric, China held the largest share in the APAC nonwoven fabrics market. China's textile business is flourishing, with the 13th Five Year Plan investing heavily and government support. In China, the demand for feminine products and baby diapers has been boosting rapidly, owing to the surge in hygiene-related concerns. The country's textile and apparel manufacturers are experiencing painful restructuring of the industry. Although the country is still the largest clothing exporter globally with enormous production capacity, oversupply at home, high labor costs, and growing global protectionism have stabilized its competitiveness. The leading diaper manufacturers in the country include Quanzhou Diaborn Hygiene Products Co. Ltd, Chiaus, BBG Sanitary Commodity Limited, AAB China Co. Ltd, InSoft, Yamaza, and Baron China Co. Ltd.

The Chinese government plans Xinjiang as the primary source for manufacturing textiles and apparel and has invested USD 8 billion. China's northwest region is expected to become the country's most extensive textile production base by 2030. The year 2016 was the first year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan. It was a significant year for the country's engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) industry, as it ventured into novel business models, domestically and globally.

In India, sanitary napkin's market potential rate has risen by 18 percent from 2014, as per BCH (Indian Nonwovens Industry Association). More than ~60 percent of Indian women are reportedly believed not to use sanitary care products. This is due in large part to the high population living in rural areas. As sanitary care products' penetration rate increases, the demand for nonwovens in the country is forecast to grow due to the rising hygiene precautions.

Provided that the construction industry is dominated by state-owned and private companies, steadily increasing government and private investment drives the industry to the world's top position in this respect. Hong Kong's housing authorities have initiated several measures to encourage the country's low-cost housing construction to begin. In turn, all the above-mentioned factors anticipated market growth at high rates, owing to the rapid growth of end-user industries.

North America is also forecasted to witness substantial market growth of nonwoven fabric due to the growing production volume and the anticipated turnaround over the projected period in construction activities. However, some markets for disposable goods such as diaper is expected to hinder demand growth to some degree. The Middle East is a comparatively small market for nonwoven fabrics, but growing nonwoven applications in building and hygiene are predicted to experience substantial growth over the coming years. North America and Eastern Europe are relatively mature economies, which are projected to experience modest growth rates over the projection period.

Segmental Analysis

The global nonwoven fabrics market is segmented into material, technology, and application.

Based on material, the global market is bifurcated into polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, rayon, wood pulp, other materials.

Polypropylene nonwoven fabrics led the material segment. nonwoven fabrics of polypropylene are fabrics like materials manufactured from short-staple fibers and long fibers bound by mechanical, chemical, or heat treatment. They are primarily used in the manufacture of textiles. Nonwoven fabrics are mostly engineered materials that have a short lifetime and can only be used once. They include functions such as liquid repellence, absorption, softness, flame retardance, strength, thermal insulation, bacterial barrier, acoustic insulation, and washability. PP nonwoven fabrics have extensive geotextiles, furniture, medical devices, hygiene products, agriculture, and medical applications. Industry participants widely use polypropylene nonwoven fabrics due to their obtainability in various grades and properties that can be altered by auxiliary chemicals and treatments.

Furthermore, rapid technological developments and innovations in this area, such as designing nonwoven fabrics with skincare and softness, have led to market growth for nonwoven fabrics made of polypropylene. Arvind Ltd. and OG Corporation of Japan signed a partnership to manufacture and exchange specialized products in December 2017. The new factory in India will help OG Corporation grow its business in India within the nonwoven fabrics' space. The strategic partnership will manufacture high-quality nonwoven fabrics for artificial leather, bag-house filtration, and other applications, using needle-punch technology.

Based on technology, the market is divided into spun-bond, wet-laid, dry-laid, and other technologies.

Based on technology, the spun-bond segment is projected to be the largest market for nonwoven fabrics. The segment's dominant market position can be attributed to the increase in the demand for these spun-bond nonwovens across various applications in hygiene products, construction, coating substrates, agriculture, battery separators, and wipes and filtration. Spun-bond is one of the most preferred technologies through which nonwoven fabrics can be produced in higher quantities. Spun-bonded nonwoven fabrics are accessible in numerous eco-friendly options, including shopping bags, packing bags, carrier bags, and gift bags. The increasing utilization of spun-bonded materials in personal care and hygiene industries owing to their liquid repellence, softness, and absorbent properties will augment durable and disposable polypropylene nonwoven fabrics market engineering.

Impact of covid-19

COVID-19 critically impacted almost all industry verticals globally. The market of the robotic refueling system witnessed slight declination due to the shortage of skilled laborers and disruption in supply chain and manufacturing operations across the globe. Moreover, the market of robotic refueling is likely to come back on track post-pandemic on account of the several measures taken to eliminate the transfer of bacteria, which prompt consumers to adopt a robotic fuelling system. Furthermore, the increasing adoption of autonomous vehicles would also impact the adoption rate of robotic fuelling systems in the near future.

Recent Developments

• In June 2020, Suominen invented a nonwoven material for the manufacturing of face mask applications. The new nonwoven has been certified infiltration performance and pressure drop by European standard EN 14683:2019 Type II specifications. This new material was produced in collaboration with VTT and is the latest addition to the FIBRELLA family. FIBRELLA Shield is now in line at the Nakkila plant in Suominen. The factory is reportedly capable of manufacturing content for about 15 million masks each month.
• In June 2020, Lydall invested in the new production line of fine fiber melt-blown to satisfy the increasing global demand for face masks. This latest production line would allow Lydall to manufacture high-quality, fine fiber melt-blown filtration media for N95, surgical, and medical face masks and greatly expand their availability, helping to mitigate the scarcity of melt-blown products, both in the U.S. and internationally.
• Berry Global stated in May 2020 an extension of its Meltex melt-blown capability, with an asset added to meet the increasing demand for face masks during COVID-19. The new line will concentrate on manufacturing nonwoven safety materials and philter materials for premium philter media quality FFP2 (N95) and FFP3 (N99).
• In May 2020, Fitesa has strengthened its potential by signing four big contracts with a technology provider called Reicofil (Germany). The kit includes state-of-the-art devices that will dramatically expand the capacity to support the grooming and healthcare industries, allowing nonwovens for medical gowns, clothing, facials, surgical and N95 facemasks, slides, and sanitary goods.
• In April 2020, Suominen strengthened its renewable commodity capability by extending one of its Italian production lines. The investment has been made in line with the new strategy released, which will improve Suominen's potential to adapt to the increasing demand for sustainable nonwovens. This investment will accelerate Suominen's potential to adapt to this need and promote Suominen's goal of becoming a sustainability pioneer. The gross funding costs are around USD 4.5 million.