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Insights into the Current Situation of the Glue Industry in the Overseas Market

2025-08-26 18:34

As a basic material widely used in industry and daily life, glue presents a diverse and dynamic landscape in the overseas market. The global market scale has been expanding steadily in recent years. According to QYResearch data, the global glue market size was approximately 39.8 billion RMB in 2022, and it is expected to rise to 58.6 billion RMB by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% from 2023 to 2029. This growth is driven by the continuous demand for efficient and reliable bonding solutions across various industries.

From the perspective of regional structure, the Asia-Pacific region is the world's largest glue consumption market, accounting for a significant proportion. The manufacturing industries in countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea are thriving, generating strong demand for glue in sectors like electronics, automotive, and construction. Taking electronic adhesives as an example, although China's output value does not rank top globally, it is a major consumer market, accounting for 56.01% of the global consumption in 2019. With the advancement of infrastructure construction and manufacturing upgrading in emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for various types of glue, such as construction sealants and industrial structural adhesives, will continue to rise.

The European market is also noteworthy, especially in the field of acrylic adhesives. The size of the European acrylic adhesive market is estimated to be 5.54 billion US dollars in 2024, and it is projected to grow to 7.16 billion US dollars by 2028, with a CAGR of 6.60% from 2024 to 2028. Driven by the EU's green building initiatives and infrastructure renovation plans, the European construction industry has seen a surge in demand for acrylic adhesives. It is expected that Central and Eastern Europe will record a CAGR of 6.1% from 2022 to 2024, while Western Europe will reach 6.4%. The transformation of the European automotive industry towards electrification has also led to a simultaneous increase in demand for special adhesives used in vehicle assembly and component bonding, in order to meet the EU's strict emission reduction targets.

The North American market, represented by the United States and Canada, also holds an important position in the glue market. Although U.S. tariff policies have posed challenges for export-oriented enterprises from China and other countries, they have not hindered the growth of North America's own demand for glue. Driven by industries such as electronics and packaging, the North American glue market maintains stable development. For instance, the production of electronic adhesives is concentrated in North America, where the total output value accounted for 43.73% of the global total in 2019.

In recent years, the African market has gradually emerged as a high-potential growth market. For example, Hunan Haosen Adhesive Industry entered the African market as early as 2007 through the Canton Fair and Alibaba International Website, and its products now cover 61 countries and regions. Africa has abundant labor resources but relatively low local manufacturing levels, so many adhesives rely on imports. Haosen Adhesive Industry has successfully opened up the market by developing products with a longer shelf life for the African market (the shelf life of similar products in the market is mostly 12 months, while its products can reach 18 months). Its trade volume with Africa reached 40 million RMB in 2024, and it also plans to build a factory in East Africa.

In terms of the competitive landscape, the global glue market is basically dominated by manufacturers from Europe and the United States. Leading enterprises such as 3M (USA), H.B. Fuller (USA), Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), DowDuPont, and Sika AG (Switzerland) hold a certain proportion of the global market share, with the top three manufacturers accounting for a significant portion. However, as enterprises from emerging countries like China enhance their technological capabilities and demonstrate advantages in cost control, they are gradually gaining a foothold in the international market. For example, in the field of MS polymer hybrid adhesives and sealants, the market share of Chinese enterprises is constantly increasing.

The trends of environmental protection and high performance are becoming increasingly prominent in the overseas market. With the tightening of global environmental regulations, the demand for environmentally friendly glues such as low-VOC (volatile organic compounds), water-based, and bio-based glues is on the rise. It is expected that by 2025, the market share of environmentally friendly glues in the global glue market will increase from 25% in 2019 to 35%. At the same time, industries have higher requirements for glue performance, and the market share of high-performance glues with characteristics such as high strength, high temperature resistance, and chemical corrosion resistance is expected to further expand, driving enterprises to continue innovating and conducting R&D.

In general, the overseas glue market presents both opportunities and challenges. Different regions have differentiated demands due to factors such as economic development level, industrial structure, and policies and regulations. While bringing broad development space for global glue enterprises, it also urges enterprises to continuously improve their technology and optimize their products to adapt to market changes.