EDANA, the leading global association and voice for nonwovens and related industries, has published its annual overview of the high-level figures from the Statistics Report on Nonwovens Production and Deliveries for 2024.

Annual report highlights the nonwoven industry recovery

After two years of decline, the European nonwoven industry has returned to pre-pandemic production levels in 2024. According to EDANA’s latest data, output in Greater Europe increased by 2.6% in volume to 2,976,400 tonnes. The surface area increased as well, growing by 2.9% to 85.1 billion square meters.

„Following two consecutive declines of more than 5% in 2022 and 2023, nonwoven production in Greater Europe has now returned to its pre-pandemic level in weight,” said Jacques Prigneaux, EDANA’s Director of Market Analysis and Economic Affairs. „At the same time, faster growth in surface area reduced the average basis weight to 34.9 gsm, down from 37.2 gsm in 2019.“

Mixed trends across technologies and regions

The performance varied across countries, production processes, and market segments. Wetlaid nonwovens, which had seen the sharpest decline in 2023, recorded the strongest growth in 2024. In contrast, airlaid was the only process to decline this year, despite being the only one to grow in 2023. The spunmelt production remained dominant in terms of surface area. Meanwhile, drylaid technologies grew slightly, supported by rising production and sales of air-through and hydro-entangled materials.

The hygiene sector remained the predominant end-use for nonwovens, accounting for 27% of all deliveries, or 797,300 tons. This represents a 1.7% growth compared to the previous year. Other high-growth segments included construction and roofing materials (+14.2%), food and beverage applications (+13%), cotton pads (+4.9%), and personal care wipes (+4.8%).

„Thanks to data collected in two units, our statistics provide EDANA members with the opportunity to thoroughly analyze trends in tonnage and surface area across 11 production processes and at least 83 market segments”, added Prigneaux.

Global market outlook extends to 2028

In November 2024, EDANA and INDA, the association of the nonwoven fabrics industry, jointly published the „Global Nonwoven Markets Report, A Comprehensive Survey and Outlook, 2023–2028“. This report provides an analysis of global nonwoven macro drivers, supply and demand trends, as well as an expanded regional trade section.