Global plastics market expected to cross US$65o bln by 2020

The Global Plastics Market is expected to reach US$654.38 billion by 2020, according to Grand View Research, Inc. Growth of major end-use industries such as packaging, construction and automotive particularly in emerging markets of China, India and Brazil is expected to remain a key driving factor for global plastic demand. In addition, the need for high performance thermoplastics from automotive industry in order to reduce the overall vehicular weight to gain fuel efficiency is also expected to have positive influence on market growth. Volatile raw material prices coupled with growing environmental concerns regarding plastics disposal and sustainability is expected to pose a serious challenge to market participants. In order to overcome such challenges leading industry participants have been actively investigating the route to develop bio-based alternatives to conventional plastics. Polyethylene (PE) emerged as the leading product segment for plastics and accounted for 34.9% of total market volume in 2013. PE is used in high volumes across various industries such as film and sheet, injection molding, blow molding and pipe manufacturing. Increasing PE capacity addition, particularly in the Middle East and Asia Pacific has led to overcapacity in the market which has seen the prices decline. PET is expected to be the fastest growing product segment for plastics, at an estimated CAGR of 8.5% from 2014 to 2020. Further key findings from the study suggest: Global plastics demand was 233.75 million tons in 2013 and is expected to reach 334.83 million tons by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2014 to 2020. Asia Pacific emerged as the largest regional market for plastics and accounted for over 44.6% of total market volume in 2013. Increasing construction spending coupled with growth of the regional automotive industry is expected to drive plastic demand in Asia Pacific. Central & South America is expected to be the fastest growing regional market for plastics, at an estimated CAGR of 6.3% from 2014 to 2020. Rise in disposable income coupled with the growth of major end use markets in Brazil and Argentina is expected to drive the demand over the next six years. North America and Europe are relatively mature markets for plastics and are driven by new technology and innovation in the field of bio-based and sustainable alternatives. North America plastic demand is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 4.3% from 2014 to 2020. Some of the companies operating in the global market include BASF, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Dow Chemical Company, SABIC, LyondellBasell Industries, ExxonMobil Corporation, Formosa Plastic Group, Total SA, Bayer Material Science, Arkema, Celanese Corporation, Chi Mei Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation.