A new Freedonia Group analysis projects global demand for pressure-sensitive (PSA) tapes to increase 3.8% per year to 58.4 million square meters in 2025, following declines in 2020 due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PSAs adhere simply with the application of pressure, requiring no additional solvent or heat for activation. The tapes typically include three components: backing, a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and one or more release coatings.

The tapes can also be segmented into two broad categories:

• Value-added technical or specialty, tapes (e.g., double-sided, medical)
• Commodity tapes (e.g., carton sealing, masking, transparent)

The latter types currently dominate the global market on a volume basis, although the former’s share of the market in value terms is much higher due to their significantly higher prices:

• Carton sealing tape was the leading product type in 2020, accounting for nearly two-thirds of global volume demand, and will remain so through 2025 due to its integral role in packaging and shipping applications – particularly in the Asia/Pacific region.
• However, double-sided tapes will grow at a faster rate, supported by increasing utilization in industrial bonding applications due to numerous advantages, including the ability to join a broad range of materials (e.g., fabric, paint, wood, metals, plastics, ceramics, glass, cork, concrete).

According to Freedonia Group’s finding, demand will be boosted by:

• Post-pandemic growth in manufacturing and an ongoing shift away from mechanical fasteners toward tape in the manufacture of many durable goods — most notably transportation equipment and electronics
• Increasing building construction activity
• Rising personal incomes in low-income countries

The materials covered in the research include polypropylene, ppolyvinyl chloride (PVC), other plastics (e.g., cellulose acetate, fluoropolymer, nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polyimide), paper, as well as materials such as cloth, rubber, glass fabric, foam, foil, and nonwovens.

Excluded from the scope of the study are water-activated/gummed, heat-activated, and other non-pressure sensitive tapes, related pressure sensitive items (such as adhesive bandages and medical patches, pipeline tapes, contact papers, and protective films, and PSA labels).

Markets covered include electronics and electrical equipment, building and construction, appliances, medical-device assembly, transportation, automotive aftermarket, printing production, healthcare, and more.