According to a recent survey by the British Coatings Federation, the coatings industry is seeing a steady rise in confidence as the economy recovers.
The coatings industry, which includes decorative paints, industrial coatings, printing inks and wall coverings, has seen an increase from industries in terms of business confidence.
The BCF business confidence index figure is now 70.4. When the survey was conducted in the fall of last year it was 63.5; while in the last survey conducted before Covid-19 (in autumn 2019), it was 61.6. In June 2020 during the first lockdown, it was at an all-time low: only 37.1.
The BCF’s business confidence survey was conducted in April and May 2021 with the aim of asking paint and printing ink manufacturers for their predictions for 2021 compared to their results obtained in 2020. The survey shows improved results and greater optimism in 1/4 of the companies interviewed.
The surge in business confidence comes from the extraordinary results of these first five months of the year both in terms of sales in decorative and industrial coatings, caused by the continued strong consumer demand for DIY products including paints and wallcoverings, and a buoyant manufacturing and construction industry recovery. Overall, UK paints and coatings sales were an impressive 24% higher than the same period in 2020.
Things are different for printing inks: after a difficult 2020, with sales falling 16%, the outlook continues to be pessimistic, mainly due to the still weak demand for printed media. Indeed, the latest survey highlights an expectation of poor results for printing inks during the rest of 2021.
Despite the more optimistic mood in the industry, the coatings industry continues to face various challenges including the availability of raw materials, rising prices across sectors, regulatory uncertainty and red tape caused by the post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and UK REACH. The British Coatings Federation is currently in dialogue with UK Government to try to create a more pragmatic and proportionate approach to regulating chemicals in the UK.