Water and Wastewater Pipe to 2016

US demand to rise more than 10% annually through 2016
US demand for water and wastewater pipe is expected to rise more than ten percent per year to $18.3 billion in 2016. Gains will rebound strongly from the declining demand experienced during the 2006-2011 period, in which pipe markets were negatively impacted by the 2007- 2009 recession. Going forward, rising demand will be fueled by a more favorable environment for public infrastructure spending, following severe budgetary constraints in 2011 which caused many major state and municipal projects to be delayed. Other factors benefiting pipe demand through 2016 will include healthy increases in construction spending and the continued need to upgrade and repair the country’s aging sewer and water pipe network.

Also boosting demand will be a rebound in the size and number of bathrooms per new housing unit to levels common in the middle of the last decade. During the 2007-2011 downturn in housing construction, many builders installed fewer and smaller bathrooms in the new houses that were completed, further restraining pipe demand.

Government cuts, housing crisis has reduced demand
Water and wastewater pipe demand has been battered in recent years by two trends: strained government budgets and the housing crisis. Government entities have reduced spending on sewer and water infrastrcture due to budget concerns. Macroeconomic conditions have adversely impacted tax revenues and increased demand for other government services, pushing infrastructure spending down the list of priorities. The housing crisis has worsened the matter because local water agencies are not collecting water fees from the thousands of foreclosed homes around the country. The housing crisis has also caused construction spending to plummet, decimating demand for pipe in water distribution applications.

This study analyzes the US water and wastewater pipe industry. It presents historical demand data for the years 2001, 2006 and 2011, with forecasts for 2016 and 2021 by market (e.g., municipal, building construction), application (e.g., sewer and drain, potable water, irrigation) and product (e.g., plastic pipe, concrete pipe, cast iron, copper, steel). The study also considers market environment factors, details industry structure, evaluates company market share and profiles industry players.

Company Profiles

Profiles US competitors such as Advanced Drainage Systems, American Cast Iron Pipe, Hanson Pipe, JM Eagle, Mueller Water Products and Rinker Materials Information and data on the pipe industry were obtained from a variety of primary and secondary sources including government and trade associations, publications such as 2011 Building Construction Cost Data (RJ Means), industry participants, online databases and other Freedonia studies. Principal government sources included the US Department of Commerce Current Industrial Reports, including MQ327D Clay Construction Products, and MA331B Steel Mill Products, as well as the Census of Manufactures. Trade associations consulted included the Aluminum Association, the American Concrete Pipe Association, the American Iron & Steel Institute, the American Plastics Council (APC), the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, the Clean Water Pipe Council, the Copper Development Association, the Corrugated Steel Pipe Institute, the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, the Fiberglass Tank and Pipe Institute, the Irrigation Association, the National Clay Pipe Institute, the National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association, the National Rural Water Association, the Plastics Pipe Institute (a division of the Society of the Plastics Industry), the Steel Tube Institute of North America, the Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association and the Vinyl Institute. Other sources included various trade publications, such as American City & County, American Metal Market, Chemical Week, Modern Plastics, Municipal Sewer & Water, Plastics News and Water World. Various other government and trade association publications, trade journals, corporate annual reports, SEC Form 10-K filings, promotional literature, industry reports, security analyst reports and other publications were also utilized.

Throughout this study, demand is related to various indicators for comparative purposes and to facilitate further analysis. Tabular details may not add to totals due to independent rounding, and calculated ratios reflect unrounded numbers. The macroeconomic indicators used in this study were obtained from The Freedonia Group Consensus Forecasts dated December 2011. Due to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ use of chain weighted price indices, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product components (2005 dollars) do not add to the total.