Ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles are a mixture of clays and other natural materials, such as sand, quartz and water. They are primarily used in houses, restaurants, offices, shops, and so on, as bathroom wall and kitchen floor surfaces. They are easy to fit, easy to clean, easy to maintain and are available at reasonable prices.

Ceramics show good strength and can withstand high temperatures and acidic materials, but are brittle, and weak in tension and shearing. Applications include floor tiles, pipes, bricks, cookware, tableware, sanitary ware, pottery products, gas and fire radiants, kiln linings, glass and steel crucibles, knife blades, disc brakes in vehicles, watch cases, and biomedical implants.

The global demand for ceramic tiles was valued at around USD 72.0 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach around 120.0 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 9.0%. In terms of volume, the global ceramic tiles market stood at 13.0 billion square meters in 2014.

The demand for ceramic tiles is primarily driven by the growing construction and infrastructure industry. Strong growth of construction industry in emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil and South Asian countries is expected to fuel the growth of ceramic tiles market in the future. Increasing industrialisation and urbanisation has resulted in growing demand for commercial as well as residential buildings in the emerging economies. Technological advancement in the manufacturing of ceramic tiles and availability of abundant raw materials is also contributed in growth of ceramic tiles market.

Floor tiles, wall tiles and others are the key product segment of ceramic tiles market. Floors tile was the largest product segment accounting for more than 50.0% share of the total volume consumption in 2014. Floor tiles are also expected to be the fastest growing product segment in terms of volume throughout the forecast period. Wall tiles was the second leading segment. Other products segment, including tabletops, facades, countertops, etc. are also expected to exhibit significant growth in the years to come.

Ceramic tiles are widely used in host of application in different industries such as, residential replacement, commercial, new residential, others (facades, countertops etc.). Residential replacement was the largest application in 2014, accounting for more than 45% of the total volume consumed. Demand for ceramic tiles used for residential replacement has increased due to its potential as a substitute for paints and other products. New residential is also expected to grow rapidly.

Asia Pacific was the largest market in 2014 with more than a 50% share in total volume consumption. Europe was the second largest market followed by Latin America, Middle East Asia & Africa and North America respectively. China, India and Brazil are alos major driving factors for the growth of global ceramic tiles market.

Some of the key industry participants in global ceramic tiles market include Porcelanosa Groupo, Saloni Ceramica, Mohawk Industries, China Ceramics Co. Ltd, RAK Ceramics, Kajaria Ceramics, Crossville Inc., Ceramiche Ricchetti, Atlas Concorde, and Florida Tile.

See also: Porcelain tiles v ceramic tiles.

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