Plastics Pipe Market [PE, PVC]

This paper attempts to look at the history of Plastics Pipe system markets in Europe, to explain some of the reasons behind today's market structure and to look to the future.

Estimates of the Total European market for plastic pipes for 1996 give figures in the region of 2,200,000 tonnes with the market being dominated by PVC and PE pipe systems. These tonnages can be compared with the 1980 figure of 1,045,000 tonnes and the 1990 figure of 1,696,000 tonnes (Table 1). The market has continued to grow at approximately 4% per year through the last 16 years by greater demand for pipe systems and has gained market share from traditional materials such as ductile iron, concrete and clay products.