American Coatings Association

The Value Added By Paints And Coatings Print Ready Brochure

Industrial Coatings

Coatings applied at the time of manufacture of products are known as industrial coatings. In 2008, 344 million gallons of industrial coatings were sold to customer industries at a value of $5.6 billion.

Architectural Coatings

The largest segment of the paint industry produces architectural coatings – including consumer paints – which make up over half of the total coatings produced annually in the United States. In 2008, the industry shipped more than 682 million gallons of architectural coatings, with a value of $8.6 billion.

These products are used to beautify and maintain the surfaces of homes, public buildings, offices and factories. About half are applied by “do-it-yourself” consumers, who recognize that paint is the most versatile, least costly and easiest to use of all home decorating products.

Special Purpose Coatings

This industry segment includes a wide array of divergent coatings. The one unifying characteristic is that these are industrial coatings that tend to be "field-applied," as opposed to being applied in a factory setting.

Special purpose coatings represent the smallest of the three major classifications of coatings. This segment can be divided into the following major sub-segments:

Automotive refinish coatings is the largest sub-segment, with a value of $2.052 billion in 2009.

Industrial maintenance coatings is the second largest sub-segment, with a value of $737 million in 2009.

Aerosol coatings, mostly used by DIY (do-it-yourself) consumers for touch-up of painted surfaces, had a value of $721 million in 2009.*

Marine paints, including both OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and refinish applications, had a value of $275 million in 2009.

Traffic marking paint, used on roadways, parking lots and airport surfaces, had a value of $317 million in 2009.

*The Aerosol Coatings estimate is based on industry estimates.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Current Industrial Report MA 325F