Calcium Chloride Market Trends

Market Driver - Increasing Demand for Packaged and Processed Foods

The food industry has seen significant changes over the past decade with an ever-growing demand for packaged and processed foods. Calcium chloride plays an important role in the manufacturing process of many foods as it helps control moisture, protects against spoilage, and enhances texture, shelf life and food safety. It is commonly used as a firming agent in canned foods to prevent softening during storage.

As urbanization accelerates, more people are living alone or in nuclear families with less time for cooking elaborate meals from scratch each day. Companies are endlessly innovating with new product varieties, flavors and packaging types to appeal to the calcium chloride market.

Furthermore, as world economies develop and household incomes rise across geographies, people are changing diets and adapting to westernized food consumption patterns. International food giants have expanded into vast new emerging markets catering to this evolving demand. All of these dynamics indicate that the growing preference for convenient packaged foods over traditional cooking methods continues to be a robust driver for the calcium chloride market on a global scale.

Market Driver - Expansion of the Construction Industry Globally

The construction industry is intricately tied to global economic growth patterns and is witnessing widespread activity globally like never before. Mega construction ventures involve an assortment of materials from cement and concrete to ceramics and glass, where calcium chloride plays a supporting role. Calcium chloride is also finding growing applications as a de-icing agent to clear roads, bridges and runways during winter weather events.

Especially in developing regions across Asia, Africa and Latin America, massive investments are channeling into new residential and commercial realms. Governments are allocating broader budgets towards expanding transportation networks, energy and social infrastructure like hospitals and schools to drive development progress. This opens new avenues of growth for calcium chloride market players.

Meanwhile in established economies, repair and replacement of aging buildings and public works also sustains ongoing construction activity. Multinational construction giants are active participants in these endeavors through transnational partnerships and contracts. Players in the calcium chloride can also explore growth opportunities in this sector in the coming years.

Market Challenge - Corrosive Nature of Calcium Chloride Leading to Infrastructure Damage

One of the key challenges faced by the calcium chloride market is the corrosive nature of the product, which can potentially cause damage to infrastructure over time. When used as a de-icing agent on roads and walkways during winter, the absorbed moisture reacts with metals, concrete and other materials used in construction. This leads to corrosion and accelerated wear of structures like bridges, roads and parking areas that are frequently exposed to calcium chloride.

Infrastructure facilities need to be repaired or replaced more often due to corrosion, which increases maintenance costs for municipalities and transportation departments. Several studies have pointed to concrete cancer and steel corrosion in bridges as a result of prolonged use of calcium chloride for de-icing.

The corrosive properties thus limit the long-term usage of calcium chloride, reducing its demand. Manufacturers in the calcium chloride market will need to develop special coating technologies or add corrosion inhibitors to calcium chloride products to address this challenge.

Market Opportunity - Growing Applications in the Oil and Gas Industry

One of the major market opportunities for calcium chloride going forward is its increasing applications in the oil and gas industry. Calcium chloride is widely used as a brine for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration activities. It enhances the viscosity and weight of drilling fluids, prevents blowouts during drilling by maintaining a stable pressure balance and transports cuttings to the surface.

With rising energy demand globally and the need for oil and gas companies to explore new reserves from more difficult terrains like offshore and ultra-deepwater, drilling activities are on the rise. This is expected to boost the consumption of calcium chloride brines.

The product is also employed for well completion and stimulation processes like hydraulic fracturing. The boom in North American shale gas and tight oil production driven by fracking will augment the demand for calcium chloride from the oilfield market. Its wide usage profiles thus make the oil and gas industry a major growth driver for calcium chloride market in the coming years.