Primarily, I would like to know which company(or companies) supplies
the traffic paint (The yellow lines, white lines etc) for the US and
Canada. I am also interested in whether this is dealt with at the
federal or state/provincial level.  I have found one company in
Canada, Ibis Products http://www.ibisproducts.ca/ , and they do the
exact type of business that I'm interested in.  Also for these
companies, who else do they sell to besides governments? Secondarily,
I am interested in how durable highway paint is, how long on average
it can last without needing a touch-up.  And finally I would like to
know if the traffic/highway paint industry is growing or declining. 
If there are more roads being built, old roads needing paint etc. My
area of interest is North America.

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Clarification of Question by smacton-ga on 27 Feb 2006 10:35 PST

Thanks. I am still trying to understand what the major "driver" of
this (the traffic paint) industry is.  Is it new road construction? if
so how is that looking in North America? Or is it wear and tear on the
highways? so things like types of treads on tires, weather conditions
etc.

Look at Vogel Traffic Services (www.vogeltraffic.com) and the related
company EZ-Liner (www.ezliner.com). They offer classes which may be of
use to you (Call 712-737-4016 for a schedule of classes.
       
? Technical and application information available
? Used by state DOTS, city and county street departments and contractors
? Half-day to two-day seminars available
? Most offered at our training facility)

Other manufacturers include:

Rustoleum - http://www.rustoleum.com/product.asp?frm_product_id=125&SBL=2

Star-Brite Traffic Paint - http://www.starseal.com/specialty.htm

Seymour Aerosol Striping Paint - http://www.seymourpaint.com/index.cfm/spc

Somay Traffic Striping Paint - http://www.somay.com/featured/trafficm/index.html

Aervoe Industries - http://www.aervoe.com/aervoe/shopping/aervoe_stripingpaint.asp

Franklin Paint Company -
http://www.franklinpaint.com/category/equipment/trusco/trusco.html

Engelhard - http://www.engelhard.com/Lang1/xDocID92289E9A785F44DA9C899B12C02D8E4E/xDocTable_Application/Tab_Overview/TechnologyClassID0/MarketID0/TechnologyID0/ApplicationID92289E9A785F44DA9C899B12C02D8E4E/up1/SubSiteID0



Also see the Thomas Register listing of Stripers: Highway, Road,
Pavement Companies at
http://www.thomasnet.com/products/stripers-highway-road-pavement-81133209-1.html

Also see the Yahoo Traffic Control > Road Marking directory at
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Transportation/Traffic_Control/Road_Marking/

Also the DMOZ open directory Pavement > Markings category at
http://dmoz.org/Business/Construction_and_Maintenance/Materials_and_Supplies/Site_Construction/Pavement/Markings/


Individual states may have specific requirements (for example,
pertaining to allowable volatile compounds in the paint, or other
chemical composition regulations). Especially important are air
pollution control regulations for VOC regulated by the US EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) or the State of California, or other
state or local agencies - see for example the map at
http://www.rustoleum.com/voc.asp?SBL=2. The United States DOT
(Department of Transportation) FHA (Federal Highway Administration) is
a good resource. Each state government will have their own "DOT -
Department of Transportation" that is responsible for state-wide
requirements.

Besides selling to federal, state, and local governments, these
companies sell to commercial real estate owners and developers (for
example, for striping of parking lots). Also, such paint is used for
striping of athletic fields by schools and professional sports teams.
Also see airport/airfield marking as a separate category.

For research into traffic safety technologies, see the Turner-Fairbank
Highway Research Center at www.tfhrc.gov.

Market research coverage of the traffic paint industry is available
from suppliers including:

Search for research reports on paint and coatings market for traffic paints at 
http://www.marketresearch.com/search/results.asp?sid=57490184-345605662-401915158&query=traffic&ckcategoryid=709

which includes, among other reports, 

The 2006-2011 World Outlook for Marine, Industrial, Construction, and
Maintenance Coatings, Traffic Marking Paints, and Other Special
Purpose Coatings By: Icon Group International, Inc.

The 2004/2005 Outlook for the Paints & Coatings Industry, past,
present, and projected sales (to 2012)  By: Business Trend Analysts
Inc

U.S. Paint and Coating Markets By: Frost & Sullivan

Handbook of Paint and Coating Raw Materials, Second Edition By:
Synapse Information Resources, Inc.

Also see insidepaint.com, including: KNG Research Study "The US Paint
& Coatings Industry, 2006 - 2011"
http://www.insidepaint.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=5247

the paint is not regulated: in most states there are exemptions for
air regulations for nominal voc paint applications - for instance in
new york 6 nycrr part 201 exempts road paints. With respect to its
long term impacts, the federal regulations exempts any materials
placed onto roads for construction and most states have an exemption
to their solid waste regulations for the paint being on the asphalt -
thus, it does not effect its disposal. In new york, the paint is not
regulated on the asphalt pursuant to exemptions in 6 nycrr part 360.