Nonwovens in the States

Estimates indicate that US demand of nonwovens will increase at a rate of 5.6% per year by 2016, reaching a value of 7.4 billion dollars, for an overall total area of 29 billion square metres (+2.2%). This trend will be driven not only by the general economic upsurge but especially by the recovery of the manufacturing and construction industries. Demand for durable nonwoven products for medical use, filtration and automotive applications is expected to remain strong, whereas the outlook for disposable products, such as those for personal hygiene - which, moreover, account for around two thirds of the total - looks less rosy.