Global Overview Of The Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Market

This is the Ninth edition of IAL’s report on the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)

market, describing the global production and consumption of TPUs. It builds on the

previous edition, which was published in 2023.

Although TPU products account for only a small part of the total production of

polyurethane products worldwide, they are a highly versatile part of the industry.

TPUs, unlike all other products within the polyurethane industry, are supplied as a

fully reacted material that is processed in two main ways to manufacture a huge

range of products for many industries. In effect, TPU’s ability to bridge the gap

between rubber and conventional thermoplastic elastomers allows the material

numerous opportunities for application.

One of the most confusing aspects of thermoplastic polyurethane is that it is often

referred to as if it were an industry segment. In fact, it is a product type that is used

across a wide range of application segments such as automotive, wire and cable,

footwear, construction, medical, general industry, etc.

TPU is mainly produced by specialist companies. They control the complex

urethane chemistry in house, thus ensuring that the final solid granules have the

optimum properties of toughness, flexibility and high abrasion resistance.

TPU is widely used to produce adhesives and coatings; however, the majority of

TPUs on the market are injection moulding and extrusion grades. These two

typologies of product are based on MDI, a wide variety of adipate-based polyesters

or polyether polyols, and various chain extenders. Some special grades use higher

performance raw materials such as aliphatic isocyanates and polycaprolactones.

The production process for thermoplastic polyurethane is much more sophisticated

than normal polyurethane production. It requires the use of a continuous twin screw

reaction extruder fed automatically with precisely controlled liquid components, all

of which must be at a specific reaction temperature in order to maintain the

consistency of the final product.

One of the key features of TPU is the ease of recycling of all scrap and used parts,

since due to its thermoplastic nature it can be re-granulated and mixed with virgin

material before being re-moulded.

It is difficult to separate the production of the elastomeric injection and extrusion

grades of thermoplastic polyurethane from those used in the adhesives and

coatings industries as most companies are involved in producing materials for all

applications.

GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE

The data contained within this report covers the following geographic regions:

Europe, Middle East & Africa

• Western Europe: Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Nordic Countries,

Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK/Ireland

• Central and Eastern Europe: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia,

Slovakia, Turkey

• Middle East & Africa: Egypt, Iran, Maghreb Countries, South Africa, Rest of

Middle East

Americas

• North America: USA, Canada, Mexico, Rest of Central America
• South America: Argentina, Brazil, Rest of South America

Asia-Pacific

• Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines,

Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Rest of Asia-Pacific

PRODUCT SCOPE

This report provides a numerical analysis for both the production and

consumption/demand for TPUs across the major global markets in 2024. Yearly

forecasts until 2029 have been derived based on comments from industry. A

summary of production capacities is included, as well as a brief profile of major

manufacturers. The most prominent market trends and influences are also

discussed. Overall, this report aims to provide information that may be of use to

TPU processors, TPU manufacturers, additive and raw material manufacturers, as

well as to those wishing to source TPUs.

Both production and demand data are broken down by the following product types:

• Injection
• Extrusion
• Adhesives
• Coatings

In addition, the market data (demand only) is broken down into the following end-

use applications:

• Automotive
• Construction
• Engineering
• Footwear
• Hose/Tubing
• Medical
• Wire & Cable
• Film & Sheets
• Textiles and Synthetic Leather (limited country scope)

METHODOLOGY

The information contained within this report has been obtained from existing in-

house data and an extensive programme of interviews with leading product

manufacturers, trade associations, and raw material producers. Published data and

statistics have also been reviewed in order to produce as accurate figures as

possible for the production and demand for TPU products as well as the

subsequent raw material utilisation.

The research for this study was undertaken between the last quarter of 2024 and

the first quarter of 2025. Forecasts for the production and consumption of TPU

products have been calculated up to the year 2029 based upon industry and

economic forecasts as well as upon other relevant commercial and technical issues

likely to affect individual market sectors and products. Forecasts for raw material

consumption are also included.

Slight discrepancies in the totals may occur, due to rounding.

UNITS OF VOLUME

All production, consumption and capacity figures are reported in metric tonnes,

unless otherwise indicated.

FORECASTS

Forecasts for changes in production by product type and by each application are

given for each country covered in this report. These are five-year forecasts, derived

from industry comments and expectations, both from the end users and raw

material sectors of the TPU industry. Yearly forecasts for production in 2029 are

given alongside the actual production figures provided for 2024.

The forecasts included in this report are based upon industry comments and

economic indicators (GDP, market growth, etc.). It can be difficult to present a

summary of forecasts for all the various types of TPUs because of the many

different factors which may affect the market. Manufacturers themselves are often

unable to agree whether a market will increase or decrease, preferring instead to

quote the factors most likely to influence the market’s development.

FORMULATIONS

The multitude of proprietary formulations used in the various product sectors of the

polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers industry means that a number of

assumptions have to be necessarily made with respect to product formulations.

In this section, the assumptions made (expressed as % w/w formulations) in

calculating raw material consumption by product type are presented.

List of Abbreviations Used

ABS Anti-braking System

ADA Adipic Acid

ADI Aliphatic Diisocyanate

AdiP Adiabatic-isothermal Phosgenation

APP Aromatic Polyester Polyols

BEV Battery Electric Vehicle

BDO 1,4- Butanediol

BMB Biomass Balanced

CASE Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers

CFRTP Continuous Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

CHDI Cyclohexylene Diisocyanate

CO2 Carbon Dioxide

CPU Cast Polyurethane

DDI Dimeryl Diisocyanate

DEG Diethylene Glycol

DMC Double Metal Cyanide

DMF Dimethylformamide

DMT Dimethyltryptamine

DNT Dinitrotoluene

EO Ethylene Oxide

EPR Extended Producer Responsibility

E-TPU Expanded TPU

EV Electric Vehicle

EVA Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate

FDM Fused Deposition Modelling

FR-TPU Flame Retardant TPU

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GHG Greenhouse Gas

H12MDI Hydrogenated MDI

HCI Hydrogen Chloride

HDI Hexamethylene Diisocyanate

HR High Resilience

IoT Internet of Things

IPDI Isophorone Diisocyanate

MDI Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate

MEKO 2-Butanone Oxime

MMDI Monomeric MDI

MNB Mono-nitrobenzene

NBDI Norbornane Diisocyanate

NDI 1,5- Naphthylene Diisocyanate

NEV New Energy Vehicle

NOP Natural Oil Polyol

NVH Noise, Vibration and Harshness

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

PA Phthalic Anhydride

PCB Printed Circuit Board

PCE Polycarbonate Ether

PCF Product Carbon Footprint

PDO 1,3-Propanediol

PEN Polyethylene Naphthalate

PEG Polyethylene Glycol

PET Polyethylene Terephthalate

PHEV Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

PIR Polyisocyanurate

PMDI Polymeric MDI

PO Propylene Oxide

PPDI 1,4- Phenylene Diiscyanate

PPG Polypropylene Glycol

PPF Paint Protection Film

PTHF Polytetrahydrofuran

PTMEG Polytetrahydrofuran

PUR Polyurethane

PVC Polyvinyl Chloride

RF Radio Frequency

SDM Solid Deposit Modelling

SME Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise

SEBS Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene

SPF Polyurethane Spray Foam

TBA Tertiary Butyl Alcohol

TDI Toluene Diisocyanate

THF Tetrahydrofuran

TMDI Trimethylhexamethylene Diisocyanate

TMXDI Tetramethylxylylene Disocyanate

TODI Tolidine Diisocyanate

TPE Thermoplastic Elastomer

TPO Thermoplastic Polyolefin

TPR Thermoplastic Rubber

TPU Thermoplastic Polyurethane

TPV Thermoplastic Vulcanizates

UV Ultraviolet Radiation

VOC Volatile Organic Compound

w/w weight in weight

XDI M-Xylene Diisocyanate Show more