With the growth of the world economy, people's demand for non-woven fabrics is increasing, especially in recent years, non-woven equipment and production capacity based on spunbond, spunlace and hot air technology have grown rapidly.

According to the forecast, in the next 5 years, the annual output of non-woven fabrics will still maintain a growth rate of 6%-10%, and by 2023, the annual output of non-woven fabrics will exceed 8 million tons. However, many non-woven fabric manufacturing entrepreneurs lament that market demand has not grown in tandem with production capacity, and overcapacity has led to price competition and equipment shutdown. With the upgrading of equipment and the improvement of R&D capabilities, non-woven fabric enterprises should not only produce more high-quality, high-specification and high-grade products, but also look at the world and open up a broader market to make the non-woven fabric industry further develop.

According to Smithers Pira's latest market research report, the global spunbond nonwovens market was estimated to be worth $12.7 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $18.3 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2018 to 2023. Spunbond nonwovens are becoming more popular as compared to other nonwovens and are also being used in the medical sector, and the high demand for polypropylene spunbond nonwovens is a key factor driving the growth of this market. The high cost of the final finished product may affect the pricing structure of the intermediate industry, and the stagnant growth of the baby diaper segment in mature markets is also a key constraint for the growth of spunbond nonwovens in the Western market. 

In 2018, disposable products accounted for a larger share of the spunbond nonwovens market. Polypropylene is still the material with the largest proportion of the spunbond nonwovens market, and one of the main advantages of polypropylene over other raw materials is its economy and yield, which makes it the preferred material, especially for disposable products such as adult incontinence products, baby diapers and sanitary napkins. This significant share of the market is mainly due to the cost-effectiveness of the material and the key functional properties that make it the material of choice. At the same time, many companies are conducting extensive research and development to improve the biodegradability of disposable spunbond nonwoven products, such as polylactic acid spunbond nonwovens have attracted much attention due to their known biodegradability and biocompatibility. 

Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the growth of the global spunbond nonwovens market, which is primarily driven by rising disposable income and growing consumption of disposable products. Forecasts show that the spunbond nonwovens market in Asia-Pacific will grow at a very high CAGR from 2018 to 2023, which is mainly attributed to the high demand for spunbond nonwovens from countries such as China, Japan, India, and South Korea.

In 2019, the global demand for spunlace nonwovens is expected to reach 1.38 million tons, or 31.1 billion square meters, worth $6.2 billion. Spunlace nonwovens have seen high growth and high profit margins in recent years in the face of new application requirements for wiping products and technological innovations, and this trend will continue until 2024, but it will also face new challenges, including overcapacity.

According to an in-depth study from Smithers Pira, continued demand will drive global spunlace nonwovens consumption at a CAGR of 7.9% to 2.01 million tons in 2024. Future profitability will also depend on the ongoing development of existing spunlace processes, the implementation of new production technologies to meet the requirements of the end user and the market.

In 2018, the global consumption of wet-laid nonwovens produced using both wet laid or DRC processes was 460,900 tons, equivalent to 11.3 billion square meters and $1.3 billion. By 2023, the annual growth rate of tonnage will reach 5.0%, the annual growth rate of square meter consumption will be 5.4%, and the annual growth rate of consumption amount will be 5.6%. As the value per ton and per square meter grows – the growth of more "high value" specialty products such as battery separators and wallcoverings is generated.

Overall, the market demand for non-woven fabrics is still growing, but the requirements for product performance and innovative applications are also rising.