British Coatings Federation Conducts Survey

Survey from the British Coatings Federation According to the latest survey results from the British Coatings Federation (BCF), the coatings industry, which encompasses decorative paints, industrial coatings, printing inks and wall coatings, has seen business confidence continue to rise as the economy improves. The BCF business confidence index figure now stands at 70.4, compared to 63.5 from the autumn of last year when this survey was conducted and 61.6 from autumn 2019 in the last survey before Covid-19. This is the opposite of June 2020, when business confidence hit bottom with only a 37.1 BCF index during the initial lockdown. The first five months of 2021 delivered excellent sales results in both decorative and industrial coatings, driven by sustained strong consumer demand for do-it-yourself products, including paints and wall coatings, and a vibrant recovery in the manufacturing and construction sectors. Overall, UK paints and coatings sales showed an impressive increase of 24% compared to the same period in 2020. While the coatings sector is performing well, printing inks tell a different story. Following a challenging 2020 with sales down 16%, the outlook remains bleak due to continued weak demand for printed media overall. The latest survey underscores expectations for poor results in printing inks for the remainder of 2021. The spring 2021 business confidence survey conducted by BCF in April and May of this year asked paints and printing ink manufacturers to compare their forecasts for 2021 against 2020 results. In the latest survey, results improved and there was an overall upward shift. The biggest change is that a quarter of the businesses surveyed are "very confident" about their performance. The improved result is not surprising given that the last survey period in October 2020 was when the UK was approaching tightening restrictions over winter, while this latest survey was conducted with more relaxation likely on the horizon. Despite more optimistic sentiment in the sector, the paint industry continues to face ongoing raw material availability challenges and price increases across all sectors, as well as regulatory uncertainty and bureaucracy caused by the post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) and changes to UK regulations. The British Coatings Federation is currently in dialogue with the UK Government to develop a more pragmatic and proportionate approach to the regulation of chemicals in the United Kingdom. Source