US demand for pressure sensitive tapes is projected to increase 5.3% yearly to $9.3 billion in 2019. Growth will reflect continued economic expansion along with further development of innovative applications for specialty tapes, which tend to be higher performing, value added products. Moreover, construction activity will continue to recover from a post-recession trough and will accelerate significantly. Prospects for tapes will also be helped by widening applications in industrial assembly and bonding due to inherent advantages over traditional fasteners. These and other trends are presented in Pressure Sensitive Tapes, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc. (freedoniagroup.com), a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

Among major tape products, the fastest growth is expected for double-sided, masking, and adhesive transfer products. According to analyst Esther Palevsky, “Gains for double-sided tapes will be promoted by their further displacement of traditional bonding and joining technologies and the further development of additional applications, especially in the transportation market.” By 2019, the value share of double-sided tapes will be similar to that of carton sealing tapes, though the latter will continue to hold a substantially larger share of volume demand. Demand for masking tape will be buoyed by a substantial acceleration in construction activity, which will drive demand for architectural paint and coatings for residential and nonresidential markets, thereby boosting sales of related masking tape. In adhesive transfer tapes, advances will reflect the further development of new applications and performance advantages over other bonding and joining systems, especially when a thin bond line is needed or the surface is irregular.

Carton sealing tapes are the leading pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape product, accounting for 17% of total market value in 2014. Through 2019, growth will trail the overall average due to the general maturity of corrugated boxes, the commodity nature of most box sealing tapes, and pricing pressure from lower cost tapes imported from China and Taiwan. Still, rapid growth for Internet shopping and other nontraditional commerce will bode well for corrugated boxes and for related carton sealing tape.