TPi March 2018

business & market news

China’s shipments of plumbing products to exceed $20bn in 2021

Construction spending directly drives gains for plumbing products, as a wide variety of fixtures and fittings are installed in newly constructed buildings and as replacements in existing building construction activity in the large plumbing markets of North America and the Asia/Pacific region will help fuel overall sales advances. Rebounding construction spending in Europe will structures. Sustained growth in

Through to 2021, shipments of plumbing products in China are forecast to rise 5.2 per cent annually to $20.3bn, moderating from the 2011-2016 period. According to analyst Nick Cunningham, “Gains will be primarily driven by a growth in domestic demand for plumbing products.” China will maintain its large trade surplus in exports as it continues to be a significant supplier for the large plumbing markets of the United States and Western Europe. Global demand for plumbing fixtures and fittings is forecast to grow 4.7 per cent annually through to 2021, accelerating from the 2011-2016 period.

China is by far the largest exporter of plumbing products in the world, running a $3.4bn trade surplus for 2016. It is also the leading exporter of these products to the United States, which is the second largest consumer of plumbing products in the world. China also exports a substantial amount of plumbing fixtures and fittings to other countries in the Asia/Pacific region, including South Korea. China’s imports of plumbing products are fairly minimal. These and other trends are presented in Global Plumbing Fixtures & Fittings Market, 6 th Edition , a new study from The Freedonia Group.

further boost global demand. The Freedonia Group – USA www.freedoniagroup.com

ASTM standard for HDPE conduit updated The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc (PPI) has commented on the updating of the ASTM F2160 standard, saying that, among other changes, the scope of the standard has now been expanded to include more SDR sizes and applications of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit. Schedule 80, ‘True-sized’ and SIDR dimensions. Typical applications include telecom, highway lighting, supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA) command and control, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and underground utilities, including wind power and solar energy farms. as the addition of SDR sizes and new applications. 11 dimensional tables are now consolidated into four for ease of use; the cell classification descriptions are harmonised with ASTM D3350; improved slow crack growth resistance (ESCR) is required; and pipe stiffness, compression and recovery requirements have been added.

“This is a significant update to the controlling ASTM standard used for HDPE conduit,” said Lance MacNevin, P Eng, director of engineering for the power and communications division (PCD) of PPI. He also explained that the effort to make the revisions to F2160 was led by PPI’s PCD, which resulted in significant improvements to the standard, such The revised ASTM F2160 standard helps ensure that HDPE conduit will stand up to tough installations and provide a long life

ASTM F2160 Standard Specification for Solid Wall High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Conduit Based on Controlled Outside Diameter (OD) is applicable to coilable HDPE conduit, duct and innerduct for the protection of fibre optic and power cables. It applies to HDPE conduit in IPS types SDR 9, SDR 11, SDR 13.5, DR 15.5, Schedule 40,

According to the PPI, the use of conduit and especially cable in conduit is growing. Its data shows that sales of HDPE underground cable increased in 2016 due to more fibre optic networks, additional utilities putting power lines underground and the increase in solar and wind farms. “Today’s conduit must be able to stand up to aggressive installation methods such as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and provide years of underground life,” said Mr MacNevin. “Working with ASTM is one part of our division’s goal to establish consistent, high-quality performance of polyethylene pipe for all these growing conduit applications.” The publication TN-50 Guide to Specifying HDPE Conduit is available on the PPI website. Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc – USA www.plasticpipe.org

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March 2018 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL