Who Will Dominate The Market For Plastic Pipes In The Next Five Years?

As an indispensable part of infrastructure and home decoration, the plastic pipe industry is ushering in a new wave of transformation driven by both policy and technological iterations. From municipal engineering to agricultural irrigation, from hydrogen transportation to intelligent monitoring, which fields will become the true growth engines? What challenges and opportunities does the industry face?

PVC remains dominant, while PE and PP-R are rapidly rising.

Despite the continuous emergence of various new materials, PVC still holds a significant share in the plastic pipe market. In the past two years, China's PVC pipe production reached 9.23 million tons, accounting for 55%. Its advantages, such as low cost and corrosion resistance, continue to make it the preferred choice in traditional infrastructure fields like building drainage and electrical conduit.

PE and PP-R pipes have rapidly emerged due to their differentiated performance. In recent years, the production of PE pipes has been around 3.22 million tons, mainly used for municipal water supply and drainage as well as gas transmission, particularly excelling in crack resistance and pressure resistance. PP-R pipes, on the other hand, are primarily used in building hot and cold water systems, becoming the mainstream choice in the home decoration market due to their environmentally friendly properties and high-temperature resistance (above 70°C).

Urban renewal and the "dual carbon" goals bring tremendous opportunities.

Infrastructure and environmental protection policies will become the core drivers of industry growth in the next five years.

On one hand, the State Council has clearly proposed to invest 4 trillion yuan to renovate 600,000 kilometers of urban underground pipelines, covering multiple areas such as gas, water supply, and drainage. It is predicted that the demand for plastic pipes in this market will account for over 50%. The renovation of old residential areas alone will generate approximately 1.9 million tons of additional demand for plastic pipes, with high-cost performance products such as PE and PVC-M being the focus.

On the other hand, driven by the "dual carbon" goals, the industry's green transformation is accelerating. Leading companies are actively investing in photovoltaic power generation and waste heat recovery to reduce energy consumption, and biodegradable materials such as PLA/PBAT pipes have entered the pilot stage. There are goals indicating that by 2030, the usage rate of recycled plastics is expected to increase to 30%.

From municipal, agriculture to new energy, diverse scenarios are emerging.

• Municipal Engineering:

HDPE steel-plastic composite winding pipes, with their smooth inner walls and strong compression resistance, are widely used in sponge city drainage systems and are gradually replacing traditional concrete pipes. In the water supply and gas sectors, PE pipes, due to their corrosion resistance and long lifespan (over 50 years), have achieved a domestic penetration rate of over 70%, becoming the preferred choice for medium and low pressure transport systems.

• Agriculture and Water Conservancy:

Policy planning indicates that between 2025 and 2030, the country will add 60 million mu of efficient water-saving irrigation area, leading to a rapid increase in demand for PE drip irrigation tapes. Meanwhile, in the construction of high-standard farmland, PVC-U agricultural water supply pipes, which are resistant to pesticide corrosion and low-cost, have also become the main product for field irrigation.

• Industry and New Energy:

Hydrogen delivery is becoming a new breakthrough in the industry. PE-RTP (Enhanced Thermoplastic Pipe) has reached a pressure capacity of 10 MPa, filling a domestic technological gap. In the field of chemical corrosion resistance, CPVC pipes can withstand strong acids and alkalis, with an annual demand growth rate exceeding 12%, gradually replacing traditional fiberglass pipes.

Cost, environmental protection, and technological iteration go hand in hand.

Despite the broad prospects, the industry also faces multiple challenges.

The fluctuation in raw material prices directly affects corporate profits—PVC and PE resin account for 80% of production costs, and the industry average gross profit margin has dropped to 12%-14% in 2024, putting particularly significant pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Environmental protection and standard upgrades are also forcing companies to transform. For example, the trend towards lead-free production requires companies to use calcium-zinc stabilizers instead of traditional lead salts, while export companies need to deal with European and American carbon tariffs (such as CBAM) by obtaining international certifications like ISO4427.

Meanwhile, technological iteration continues to accelerate: smart pipelines with built-in sensors enable real-time leakage monitoring, and the market size for this is expected to reach 12 billion yuan by 2028. Steel-plastic composite pipes, due to their strength and corrosion resistance, are also consistently impacting the high-end market share.

The future belongs to those who focus and innovate.

In the next five years, the plastic pipe industry is expected to undergo continuous transformation along the dual main lines of "policy dividends + technological revolution." To stand out in the fierce competition, companies must focus on niche markets, accelerate intelligent and green transformation, and seize structural opportunities through product innovation.

Whoever can make early arrangements is likely to gain an advantage in this round of industrial upgrading.