Modest growth for paint and coatings in Australia in 2013 forecasts IBISWorld

The first commercial production of paint in Australia dates back to the 1850s. Over the past century, the paint and coatings manufacturing industry in Australia recorded strong growth in line with Australia’s industrial development, before entering a slower growth phase as the industry matured.
Today, it remains a relatively important component of Australia’s broader chemical segment. According to IBISWorld industry analyst Kosta Lev, "One of the defining characteristics of the industry is the dominant position held by a few major players with a strong stable of national and global brand names within different price points and product segments”. These major players operate on a vertically integrated basis so that competition occurs across the supply chain rather than just at the manufacturing level. Industry revenue is expected to have declined by 0.2%/yr, to US$3.63bn over the five years through 2012-13. This poor performance reflects the slowdown in the general economy and the associated implications for consumer and business confidence levels. It also reflects a cyclical downturn in the housing market and the structural decline of the domestic printing and automotive manufacturing industries.
Over 2012-13, the paint and coatings manufacturing industry in Australia is expected to post modest growth of 1% as it continues to slowly regain some of the ground lost in 2008-09 and 2009-10 in view of higher housing investment levels (including renovations). The largest four players are Duluxgroup, PPG Industries, Valspar Paint and AkzoNobel.