Booming Construction Sector to Boost Demand for Self-Consolidating Concrete Market
Market Overview
The global self-consolidating concrete (SSC) market can achieve a remarkable growth rate during the forecast period (2016-2021), suggests Market Research Future (MRFR).
Top Drivers and Key Challenges
Since its development about 25 years ago, SCC has gained immense popularity among architects and contractors in developing countries. It finds widespread use in repairing and precast applications. Its use is also rising the new construction application segment.
Self-consolidating concrete is also called self-compacting concrete and can be described as a concrete mixture that has a moderate viscosity, high segregation resistance, low yield stress, and high deformability. SCC can self-level and has the ability to easily flow through the obstructions and framework. In addition, it is less labor-intensive compared to conventional concrete mixes. It also helps remove any vibration-related issue and is easy to apply.
The global self-consolidating concrete market can gain immense traction in the coming years, backed by the expanding construction sector. Its high aesthetic and engineering advantages also add to its appeal among consumers. Development of advanced self-consolidating concrete across various regions is expected to work in favor of the global market as well.
Market Segmentation
The worldwide self-consolidating concrete market has been segmented with regard to type, ingredients and application.
With respect to the type, the market is considered for powder, viscosity modifying agent and combination.
Ingredient-wise, the market includes aggregates, cement, admixtures, and others.
Application-based segments enlisted in the report include infrastructure, precast concrete, architectural, and others. The precast concrete segment is responsible for significant consumption in the global SCC market. It is made of a range of products such as architectural cladding, flooring units, paving, masonry (blocks and walling), roof tiles, piles & foundations, railway products, structural components, and drainage.
Regional Insight
North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW) are the major regions as per which the self-consolidating market has been studied in the MRFR report.
A plethora of driving factors that make APAC the top market for self-consolidating concrete market includes mounting awareness about sustainable buildings as well as green certification. Governmental standardization in the region also indicates that Eco-SCC, in all likeliness, can emerge as the next disruptive trend in the market space. The strong product demand in the region is the surge in the number of drilling activities, given the booming oil & gas sector.
Europe is another major market for SCC and can grow steadily during the forecast period. High consumer emphasis on low-noise construction activities along with the rising popularity of low-fines Smart Dynamic Concrete (SDC) is believed to be important factors that are boosting market demand in the region. Gradually recovering construction and housing sector in recent years has also contributed massively to the regional market. A number of renowned companies in the region are entering strategic alliances with small or medium scale vendors to expand their profitability. To illustrate, Tarmac (Europe) acquired half of ScotAsh, which resulted in it becoming the largest producer for construction materials in 2017.
High deployment of self-compacting concrete in constructional activities has been noted in North America. This factor has led to higher research and development (R&D) investments in the region by the vendors that aim to take advantage of the material's potential. In fact, a number of market giants in the region are exhibiting a great deal of interest in expanding their product portfolio as per the sustainability trends.
RoW includes the Middle East & Africa, which will note notable growth during the review period. This is mostly owing to the burgeoning population that calls for substantial investments in infrastructure projects. Apart from this, availability of oil & gas reserves coupled with increasing energy consumption from household, transportation, and power sector could lead to higher number of exploration and production activities in the region.
Leading Players
Leading players shaping the worldwide self-consolidating concrete market are Unibeton Ready Mix, CEMEX Group, Lafarge, BASF SE, Lafarge, Hope Cement Limited, Tarmac Trading Limited, Sika AG, UltraTech Cement Limited, ACC Concrete Limited, to name a few.