The U.S. and Canadian geosynthetics market includes geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, drainage materials, geocells and erosion control materials. In 2017 the U.S. and Canadian geosynthetics market grew in the low single-digit ranges, and it is expected to grow slightly higher in 2018.
Consolidation in the geosynthetics market
Due to the weaker U.S. dollar in 2017 and 2018, coupled with subdued growth in economies around the globe, U.S. geosynthetic manufacturers, in particular, have been experiencing intense competition from domestic and international firms. To better compete in this competitive environment, some U.S./Canadian geosynthetics market players have pursued mergers and acquisitions to place them in a better position to serve their customers.
The key geosynthetics market mergers and acquisitions that occurred in 2017 include:
Montreal-based Groupe Solmax, a leader in polyethylene geomembranes, acquired GSE Environmental™, based in Houston, Texas, in December 2017.
South Dakota–based Raven Industries Inc. acquired substantially all the assets of Colorado Lining International Inc., headquartered in Parker, Colorado, in August 2017.
Hanes® Geo Components™ based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, acquired Toronto-based Terrafix Geosynthetics in January 2017.
Outlook in the geosynthetics market
The overall U.S. and Canadian geosynthetics market is expected to see modest growth in 2018. Roadway and bridge construction will drive a good portion of this growth.
Although there have been significant increases in state and local revenues for transportation projects in a number of U.S. states in recent years, some of the revenue has been dedicated to debt reduction or has been delayed from reaching the transportation market due to state budget issues, which continue to cause a decline in funding for the overall U.S. transportation infrastructure market. This hindered growth in the U.S./Canadian geosynthetics market in 2017.
The upside for the U.S./Canadian geosynthetics market is expected growth in 2018 in market segments such as air terminals and runways, public transit, railroads, street and parking lot construction, and bridges and tunnels.
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