Several economic challenges, including a slowdown in China and recession in several emerging markets, pulled down growth in the global chemical industry last year. Global chemical production grew by only 2.2% over the prior year, compared to year-over-year growth of 2.7% in 2015, according to the American Chemistry Council’s report, “Year-End 2016 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook.”
The future will brighten, however, this year and beyond, ACC projects. Global chemical production will experience year-over-year growth of 2.9% this year, followed by 3.3% in 2018.
“In the long term, the most dynamic achievements will be found in the developing nations of the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and the Middle East,” says Kevin Swift, chief economist of ACC and lead author of the report. “But due to competitive advantages from shale gas, growth will be strong in North America as well. With long-term structural and competitiveness challenges at work, Western Europe and Japan will lag,” Swift continues. “The slower growth in Latin America and some other emerging markets, however, is more short-term in nature. With strengthening production volumes, global capacity utilization should improve in the 2020s.”
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