PVC: consumption in Italy in 2020
The annual survey of PVC consumption in Italy carried out by Plastic Consult on behalf of PVC Forum Italia revealed a total quantity of 590,000 tons of processed PVC in 2020, about 7% down on the previous year’s figure. This reduction reflects the performance of the Italian thermoplastics market, which contracted from 5.69 million tons in 2019 to 5.36 million tons in 2020 (-6%) and marked a return to 2014 levels.
Out of the total of 590,000 tons, 287,000 tons consisted of rigid PVC and 303,000 tons plasticised PVC, which in proportion suffered a slightly smaller loss compared to rigid PVC. PVC resin made up 64% of the total and PVC compound the remaining 36%.
The results were certainly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a big impact on all markets throughout much of 2020, disrupting the outlook for the whole of industry including the plastics sector.
Overview of application sectors
The building industry is historically the largest field of application for PVC and accounted for 193,000 tons of PVC in 2020, a contraction that reflects the performance of polymers in general (-7%) and electrical applications (mainly flexible PVC for cable and wire protection). The decline was more substantial (around 15%) in the packaging (60,000 tons) and furniture/furnishings (24,500 tons) segments.
Exported PVC compound held up well, losing only 2% and proving to be the application sector that was least affected by the pandemic.
As for recycled PVC, the reduced availability of pre-consumer waste for regeneration was exacerbated by the unfavourable price positioning of post-consumer recyclates, a situation that persisted for several months and slowed their development. Total production of recyclate stood at just under 80-85 ktons, with post-consumer waste accounting for about 30%.
| Rigid PVC | Plasticised PVC | Total PVC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ton. | Ton. | Ton. | % | |
| Building/construction | 172,000 | 21,000 | 193,000 | 32.7 |
| Packaging | 35,500 | 24,500 | 60,000 | 10.2 |
| Electricity | 2,500 | 52,000 | 54,500 | 9.2 |
| Furniture/furnishings | 12,500 | 12,000 | 24,500 | 4.2 |
| Stationery | 14,000 | 11,000 | 25,000 | 4.2 |
| Leisure | - | 24,500 | 24,500 | 4.2 |
| Agricolture | 13,000 | - | 13,000 | 2.2 |
| Telecommunications | - | 12,000 | 12,000 | 2 |
| Transport | - | 17,000 | 17,000 | 2.9 |
| Footwear/clothing | - | 7,500 | 7,500 | 1.3 |
| Electrical appliances | 500 | 6,500 | 7,000 | 1.2 |
| Various* | 10,000 | 62,500 | 72,500 | 12.3 |
| Exported compound | 27,000 | 52,500 | 79,500 | 13.5 |
| TOTAL | 287,000 | 303,000 | 590,000 | 100 |
* Medical articles, technical uses, others: suitcases, leather goods, expanded sheets, conveyor belts, etc.
Collaboration between supply chain players is essential
The sector benefits from the support of PVC Forum Italia's R-PVC Hub, a platform allowing for collaboration between all players in the PVC recycling chain, from waste collectors to processors and companies that produce articles containing recyclate.
In the immediate future, new opportunities may arise from constructive management of the ongoing crisis, perhaps by exploiting potential synergies or collaborations between companies at all levels. This may be achieved for example through research and innovation aimed at developing new solutions for a changing society, by creating or re-inventing new industrial PVC applications and by focusing on hygiene and sterility as drivers for the coming years.
Outlook for 2021
At a macroeconomic level, 2021 will see a rebound in the Italian economy and in industrial production for both the domestic and foreign markets. Following a recovery in the latter part of 2020, the new year opened with strong demand for rigid PVC in many applications. The growth prospects for plasticised PVC are also favourable. More generally, demand is buoyant and almost all major applications are expected to grow. Recyclates are benefiting from the external and regulatory environment, which will foster their development by increasingly pushing up demand for products with higher recycled content.
