Demand For Windows & Doors In China To Reach 195 Billion Yuan In 2011

Advances will be driven by healthy gains in building construction activity as industrialization efforts continue and personal and business income levels rise. Increasing demand for larger living spaces, further privatization of home ownership, sustained strength in foreign investment and a rapidly expanding domestic consumer market will also contribute to fenestration product market gains.



These and other trends are presented in Windows & Doors in China, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.Plastic windows and doors will continue to make inroads at the expense of metal and wood products, with demand rising a robust 13.9 percent annually through 2011. Plastic materials primarily benefit from their low maintenance requirements, relatively low cost, and good energy efficiency. Plastic’s rapid rise in the Chinese fenestration market is also partly due to strong support for energy-efficient materials from the government.



Demand for metal products will experience slower but still healthy growth through 2011. Despite market share loss to plastic, metal will remain the leading window and door material in China, accounting for over 60 percent of overall demand. Demand for windows and doors in nonresidential buildings is projected to advance 11.2 percent annually through 2011, comprising over three-fifths of total demand.



Growth will benefit from a favorable outlook for nonresidential construction activity in China, particularly in the office and commercial and institutional building segments. Residential window and door demand will grow at a comparable pace, with demand forecast to rise 10.8 percent per annum to ¥77 billion in 2011.



Unlike in the US, new construction applications account for the majority of window and door sales in China. While it is typical of a developing market that new demand outweighs replacement need, this difference is also due to factors unique to China. For example, a large share of the Chinese window and door stock is comprised of metal products with a relatively long useful lifespan, which limits replacement demand. Thus, demand for windows and doors in new construction applications will account for over 70 percent of the total in 2011.