Flat Glass Industry - Total World Market
The global market for flat glassA in 2007 was approximately 50 million tonnes (~6 billion m2)B. At current price levels, this represents a value at the level of primary manufacture of around euro 21 billion. Over the long term, this market is growing in volume terms at around 4-5 per cent a year.
Of this demand, over 30 million tonnes is high quality float glass. Around 2-3 million tonnes is satisfied by sheet glass production (a process where molten glass is drawn out of the furnace vertically and subjected to an inferior annealing process); and 2 million tonnes is rolled glass (a process where molten glass is squeezed between rollers to form sheets, usually with a pattern embossed on the surface). The remaining 17 million tonnes is lower quality float, produced mainly in China. Rolled glass demand is expected to grow as new facilities are commissioned which will manufacture glass for solar applications.
A proportion of the high quality float glass, and indeed some of the rolled, is further processed by laminating, toughening, coating and silvering, for use typically in insulating glass units or automotive glazings. At this level the market has a value of approximately euro 52 billion.
A – Glass manufactured in flat sheets (float, sheet and rolled), which may be further processed. Excludes bottles, containers, fibreglass, rods, and tubes.
B – On average 1 tonne is approximately 125 m2.