Interest Rates Affect Coating Sales

Rising interest rates across North America are slowing the housing market, which is impacting the decorative market. At the same time, do-it-yourself projects continue to moderate after a surge during the pandemic. These indicators are having an effect on the global coatings market, says Orr & Boss Consulting, a global consulting firm that covers the coatings, adhesives and sealants, and raw material supplier industries. It forecasts the 2022 global coatings market at 2.9 per cent volume growth and 13.1 per cent value increase over 2021. It says the biggest issue impacting the coatings market on a global level is the COVID lockdowns in China and the resulting slowing economic growth. This market is expected to come back as the restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, the raw material supply situation continues to improve slowly. The lockdowns in China will impact it going forward so, that might result in a delay to getting the supply normalized. It expects the raw material supply to continue to improve, albeit at a slow pace. It does not expect a full normalization of the raw material market until 2023.