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Essential New Chemical Industry Market Report for 2008

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 09:00 CDT

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b35713/chemical_industry) has announced the addition of the "Chemical Industry Market Report 2008" report to their offering.

The UK chemical market is one of the country's largest manufacturing sectors (accounting for around 14% of the UK's manufacturing industry as a whole), and is also one of the largest sources of exports in the manufacturing industry. The UK remains one of the top ten chemical producers in the world. International chemical companies dominate the industry in the UK, with many famous UK names falling prey to foreign competitors.

Momentously for the industry and the UK's economy, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was acquired by Akzo Nobel of the Netherlands in January 2008 for $17.5bn. ICI was once regarded as the bellwether company, occupying a huge position in the financial markets and in the economy as a whole. However, the UK remains home to two of the world's most important pharmaceutical firms -- AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline -- as well as numerous small and dynamic pharmaceutical firms.

Nevertheless, the chemical industry is a global business and, unsurprisingly, large multinationals (principally based in the US, Germany and France) dominate the overseas chemical industry. Yet the chemical industry is also developing rapidly in fast-growing economies such as China, which have a huge appetite for chemicals, as well as in the Middle East, where many of the resources consumed by the industry are produced.

UK manufacturers' total sales of chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres increased in value by nearly a quarter during the review period (2003 to 2007). Increases in 2006 and 2007 reflected strong global economic growth and particularly buoyant sales in Asia, as well as robust price rises. We believe that growth was still fairly strong in 2007 but that conditions deteriorated towards the end of the year in developed economies such as the US and the UK.

We estimate that global sales of chemicals increased in value by 6% in 2007 -- but it appears that the rate of growth may have peaked in 2006 during the current cycle. In terms of regions, Asia now accounts for the largest proportion of sales, mainly due to the rise of China and India. However, the EU remains the world's leading exporter and importer of chemicals, and accounts for half of global trade in chemicals.

The chemical industry has expanded significantly over the past 5 years (2003 to 2007), reflecting a strong global economic background. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects global growth to slow markedly in 2008. It is also predicting relatively slow growth in 2009 -- but has warned that there is a 25% chance that the global economy will record growth of 3% or less in 2008 and 2009, equivalent to a global recession. This will inevitably affect the chemical industry, which will also experience much lower growth rates. Increased capacity will limit the industry's ability to raise prices; yet, at the same time, it is likely to be facing fierce cost pressures, since the price of oil (which provides many of the raw materials for the industry) could remain very high. More positively, the IMF believes that many of the fast-expanding emerging economies will continue to grow strongly.

Key Topics Covered:

- Executive Summary - Market Definition - Market Size - Industry Background - Competitor Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - Buying Behaviour - Current Issues - The Global Market - Forecasts - Company Profiles - Further Sources Companies Mentioned: - Astrazeneca Plc - Boc Group Plc (the) - Bp Chemicals Ltd - Cookson Group Plc - Croda International Plc - Glaxosmithkline Plc - Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd - Johnson Matthey Plc - Shell Chemicals Uk Ltd - Yule Catto & Co Plc

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b35713/chemical_industry

Source: Business Wire

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