Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

Canvas Tarpaulin
A canvas tarpaulin or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water resistant or waterproof material.
Traditionally tarpaulins were made out of cotton however currently nylon and polyester fibre fabrics
are being increasingly used in manufacturing tarpaulins.
Canvas tarpaulins are largely used as truck covers. Trucks travel long distances and hence come
across huge climatic variations. Given India’s rough environmental conditions, damage to goods is
inevitable if the goods are not adequately shielded. A steel body truck not only increases the weight of
the truck but also reduces the fuel efficiency. Thus, truck tarpaulin covers are widely used as truck
covers. As the logistics industry is getting more and more organised, the product liability clauses are
being enforced on the logistics players leading to increase in usage of truck covers. Moreover, the
advent of organised players in retail industry has also given boost to the use of well covered trucks.
Product Characteristics
Canvas Tarpaulin covers are made of cotton canvas or nylon or polyester fibre fabrics coated with
PVC. The cotton fabric is available in GSM ranging from 380 to 500. Vinyl coated polyester fabrics
are 610 GSM to 678 GSM with the base fabric of 102 GSM to 107 GSM. These fabrics being heavy
have lower elongation, minimum shrinkage over wide range of temperature and humidity conditions
and resistance to UV degradation.
Market dynamics and key growth drivers
The key application of canvas tarpaulins is as truck covers. In India, road is the dominant mode of
transportation carrying almost 65% of the country’s freight. Truck transport accounts for majority of
the goods transfer through road and thus, holds immense significance. Around 2.5 lakh new trucks are
sold every year, increasing at 10% y-o-y.
Production of Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Goods carriers) in India
(Vehicles in '000 numbers) Production
Segment 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Commercial Vehicles (CVs)
M&HCVs Goods Carriers 95.7 136.8 172.9 179.3 246.9 232.3
Source: SIAM
India experiences extreme climatic conditions from heavy rains to extreme heat. Since trucks travel
long distances, tarpaulin covers are a necessity to protect the goods. Thus, use of tarpaulin is expected
to increase in line with increase in truck transport.
The industry survey has revealed that HDPE tarpaulin is becoming more popular vis-a-vis its canvas
counterpart because it is cheap and inherently waterproof. The only advantage that canvas tarpaulin