Ceresana: Slight market recovery for plastic pipes in Europe expected from 2026

After years of stagnation, the market research company Ceresana sees signs of a moderate recovery of the European market for plastic pipes starting in 2026. The consumption of pipes made of PVC, polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, and other polymers remained at around five million tonnes annually for a long time. Impetuses for rising demand are now coming primarily from regulatory requirements, infrastructure investments, and climate related adaptation measures.

Drivers of this development include EU directives on drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, which are being implemented step by step and promote the expansion as well as the modernization of pipeline networks. Additionally, the demand for pipe systems for adaptation to climate change is rising, for example in agriculture, horticulture, and municipalities, for instance for irrigation, wastewater, pressure pipes, or water treatment. Ceresana also expects growth in the cable protection segment: an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent is forecast for conduits, mostly made of polyethylene, to protect power and telecommunications lines.

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Differentiation by application and design
In the eighth edition of the report Plastic Pipes Europe, Ceresana distinguishes systematically for the first time between building services and outdoor supply lines for the application fields of drinking water and wastewater. The demand in building services is closely linked to construction activity in building engineering as well as renovation and modernization measures. Especially during renovations, metallic piping is increasingly being replaced by plastic solutions, such as PP R or cross linked polyethylene PE X, which are considered lightweight, durable, and corrosion resistant.

For large pipe diameters where high stiffness and resistance are required, glass fiber reinforced plastics GRP are increasingly being used. Although their market share has been low so far, Ceresana expects a comparatively high annual growth of around 3 percent. This development is, however, heavily dependent on individual large scale projects. For PE pipes, which are used particularly in drinking water supply, irrigation, and parts of gas networks, an average growth of 1.4 percent per year is expected. Another demand factor is the increasing use of trenchless construction methods.

Framework conditions and uncertainties
According to Ceresana, the European construction industry could recover overall starting in 2026. At the same time, obstacles remain, including complex approval procedures, a shortage of skilled workers, and rising construction and financing costs. Municipal projects are also under pressure from tight budgets. On the other hand, there are extensive state and European investment programs, such as for the expansion of energy infrastructure. With initiatives like the European Grid Package, the EU plans the expansion of trans European electricity, gas, and hydrogen networks.

The report shows that construction activities in the commercial, infrastructure, and military segments are developing more favorably in many European countries than residential construction. Additional momentum is created by the increased construction of data centers in the wake of the growing demand for computing power.

Contents of the market study
The study analyzes the European market for plastic pipes until 2034 and provides key figures for revenue, production, and consumption by application, plastic type, and construction segment. Detailed country analyses for 23 European states as well as segmentation by application areas such as drinking water, wastewater, cable protection, gas, agriculture, and industry are included. The report is supplemented by company profiles of 59 leading European manufacturers, including Aalberts, Aliaxis, Geberit, Georg Fischer, Pipelife, Rehau, and Wavin.

More information: ceresana.com/en/produkt/plastic-pipes-market-report-europe

Ceresana Research, Konstanz

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