Market and product

Global demand for rubber processing chemicals is forecast to increase 4.4 percent per year through 2020 to 1.5 million metric tons. Growth will be driven by rising rubber consumption and the increasing rubber processing chemical loadings necessary to manufacture premium tires, high performance automotive and industrial goods, and a range of other products where expectations of quality and long service lives are increasing over time.

Advances will be strongest in the developing countries of the Asia/Pacific region, but improving conditions in the mature markets of the US, Western Europe and Japan will also contribute significantly to growth. These and other trends are presented in World Rubber Processing Chemicals, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm. While rubber processing chemical demand will increase faster than rubber consumption, demand for these chemicals will remain tightly correlated with rubber consumption within individual countries.

As such, broad trends that influence demand for rubber used in tires and industrial products will have a strong impact on rubber processing chemicals. According to analyst Jason Carnovale, “Rising motor vehicle ownership rates in developing nations will support local tire production, necessitating additional consumption of processing chemicals.” Non-tire rubber chemical demand will also benefit from a healthy outlook for world motor vehicle production, as well as continuing industrialization in the developing world. The potential for an economic slowdown in China is a significant concern for the rubber processing chemical industry.

Rubber demand growth in China has already decelerated in recent years as the country faces challenges related to its real estate and financial markets.

However, the Chinese market is expected to remain healthy through 2020 as motor vehicle production remains strong, and the country is forecast to contribute nearly half of incremental global demand growth. Both Japan and Western Europe are expected to see a reversal from declines in rubber processing chemical demand experienced between 2010 and 2015, while U.S. demand accelerates due to improving market conditions.

However, advances in all three of these industrialized areas are projected to remain well below the world average through 2020, reflecting market maturity and limited opportunities for additional rubber consumption or increases in processing chemical loadings. - Rubber World