wallpaper

Demand for wallpaper is projected to advance 3.8 percent annually from a weak 2004 base to $2.2 billion in 2009. Consumption has been negatively impacted for most of the last ten years, due to a variety of factors, including competition from paints and coatings, long term weakness in the wallpaper sector, a severe cyclical downturn in the manufactured housing sector and a weak nonresidential building market. Going forward, however, the basic demand fundamentals for wall coverings will be much improved. In particular, the manufactured housing sector will make a strong recovery, as will key segments of the nonresidential building industry. In addition, demand for wallpaper, which has suffered mightily over the last ten years, will finally bottom out and begin to rise once again. Wallpaper demand will finally post positive gains, after years of decline brought about by competition from paints and coatings. Consumption will benefit from changing consumer trends, improved marketing and the ongoing development of a wide range of new wallpaper products, such as wallpaper that is easier to apply and remove mold-resistant wallpaper and large-scale mural” and “couture” wallpapers.