IAL Consultants CP House, 97 107 Uxbridge Road Ealing, London W5 5TL UK Tel: + 44 20 8832 7780 Fax: + 44 20 8566 4931 PRESS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2015 POLYURETHANE CHEMICALS AND PRODUCTS IN ASIA PACIFIC (APAC), 2015 IAL Consultants is pleased to announce the recent publication of the latest edition of its report on the markets for Polyurethane Chemicals and Products in Asia Pacific (APAC). This new study updates and expands upon the information included in our previous study published in 2013. The information contained within this report is based upon an extensive programme of interviews throughout the industry. The report contains both PU product production and raw material consumption figures with 2014 as the base year and market forecasts provided to 2019. The data is also available separately in our unique database format for subscribers, enabling the manipulation and output of data. The report is presented in eight volumes. The titles of all eight volumes are: Volume 1 Raw Materials Volume 2 Flexible Foam Volume 3 Rigid Foam Volume 4 Coatings Volume 5 Adhesives & Sealants Volume 6 Elastomers Volume 7 Binders Volume 8 End-Use Markets Total production of polyurethane products is reported to have been 11.5 million tonnes in 2014, compared with almost 9.83 million tonnes in 2012 and 6.9 million tonnes in 2009. By 2019, this figure is forecast to be over 15.5 million tonnes, equivalent to an average growth of 6.2% p.a. over the next five years. Of the three regions considered, the polyurethane industry remains the largest in East Asia, because of the dominance of China, but growth rates are expected to be stronger in India and South East Asia.
Total APAC Production of All PU Products & Growth Rates by Region, 2014-2019 (Tonnes) Country 2014 (Tonnes) 2019 (Tonnes) 2014-2019 (% Growth p.a.) East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) 10,480,045 14,013,825 6.0 South East Asia (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New 653,250 918,152 7.0 Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) India 371,477 586,758 9.6 Total APAC 11,504,772 15,518,735 6.2 Source: IAL Consultants Total = 11,504,772 tonnes Raw Materials MDI and TDI are essentially marketed as commodity aromatic chemicals, with APAC consumption of approximately 2.8 million tonnes and 832,000 tonnes, respectively, in 2014. The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing an upsurge of new MDI plants coming on stream, particularly in China, at the same time as import volumes from Europe are declining. Traditionally there has been a generalised shortage of MDI in APAC, but this has been changing in the past few years thanks to increasing levels of production output. The industry now claims that China has reached 90% self-sufficiency and is now able to export to nearby countries. In the past, MDI consumption was largely driven by the appliance sector. Today, the high rates of urbanisation encountered in the region, as well as an increasing awareness about sustainability, mean that polyurethane rigid foam will drive the future demand for MDI. In the PU industry, TDI is mainly used in flexible foam production, with mattresses, upholstery and transport seats representing the main end-use applications. Further
volumes of TDI are used in the manufacture of, for example, PU coatings, elastomers and adhesives. Overall, the growth rates for TDI consumption in APAC have been slower than those of MDI. In particular, the automotive industry is outperforming furniture production and is currently serving as the main impetus for flexible foam production and TDI consumption. Flexible and Rigid Foams Total = 11,504,772 tonnes Total production of flexible polyurethane foam in 2014 in the APAC region was estimated to have been over 2.2 million tonnes, of which 1.5 million tonnes was slabstock, 145,000 tonnes was moulded foam and 584,000 tonnes was for transport applications. More than 77% of the Asian flexible foam production takes place in East Asia, with over 65% in China, where there is large-scale production of furniture, bedding, footwear and automotive OEM. The demand for moulded PU foam is closely linked to the performance of the automotive industry, which has been fluctuating over the last decade due to the effects of the global financial crisis, European debt crisis, regional political turmoil and economic downturn. The total APAC production of rigid polyurethane foam was over 2.6 million tonnes in 2014, of which the bulk is used for thermal insulation in the construction and refrigeration industries in the form of panels, boards and in-situ foam. Most demand for PU rigid foam comes from construction applications in Asia Pacific, although there is also demand from refrigeration, moulded foams and other applications. Promotion of energy saving and efficiency for buildings continues to be the major driver for rigid PU foams in Asia Pacific. Incentives such as tax reductions on purchases of energy efficient properties are available in some of the countries in Asia. Large numbers of buildings are poorly insulated in Asia, especially in the
developing markets in South East Asia, China and India, representing a large growth potential for thermal insulation materials for buildings in the region. CASE Applications Total APAC production of polyurethane coatings was over 1.85 million tonnes in 2014. In the Asia Pacific region, polyurethane coatings are mainly used in wood structures, furniture, construction, and in marine and automotive applications, in accordance with the production volumes of the main end-use industries. East Asia is the main producer and consumer of polyurethane coatings in Asia Pacific. Polyurethane adhesives and sealants are available for a diverse range of applications, and total production was around 788,000 tonnes in 2014. The polyurethane adhesives and sealants market continued to grow in Asia Pacific in 2014, driven by the increasing demand from a range of industrial sectors, but in particular the flexible packaging, construction, automotive and footwear sectors. Footwear and flexible packaging were the two largest end-use sectors, followed by construction and automotive OEM. Their extremely high performance enables the use of synthetic polyurethane elastomers in a broad range of different sectors, such as footwear, textiles, automotive, construction, mining, aerospace, electronics, medical devices, sports products and various general industries. Most demand comes from the footwear and textile industries in Asia Pacific. Total APAC production was over 4 million tonnes in 2014, making it the largest PU segment in Asia. Binders Production of polyurethane binders was over 78,000 tonnes in 2014. The demand for polyurethane binders remains relatively low when compared to other PU-based products in Asia Pacific; these products suffer from a narrow range of applications, as well as competition from less expensive furan and formaldehyde binders. The main application areas for polyurethane binders are in forest products such as plywood and agri-fibre panels, with other areas of importance being in rubber crumb and foundry core applications. *** The data in this eight-volume report includes raw material consumption by product type, by region, by country and by major end-use industry. The Raw Materials volume contains comprehensive supply and demand data for all of the major polyurethane raw material types. The Major End-Use Markets volume contains an overview of the major markets for PU products and a summary of trends and drivers.
The report is available for the following prices: Price Volume 1 Raw Materials Only available with full report Volume 2 Flexible Foam 3,000 Volume 3 Rigid Foam 3,000 Volume 4 Coatings 2,000 Volume 5 Adhesives & Sealants 2,000 Volume 6 Elastomers 2,000 Volume 7 Binders 1,000 Volume 8 Major End-Use Markets 4,000 THE COMPLETE REPORT 14,500 THE COMPLETE REPORT ONLINE DATABASE PACKAGE PRICE ON APPLICATION IAL S Online PU Database The PU APAC report is also available as part of IAL s Global online database system called Enterprise, which forms a key part of our services to the PU industry and its affiliates. IAL provides subscribers with a comprehensive and fast tool that enables them to analyse all data available efficiently and to every desirable level of detail. The PDF reports remain a complementary, qualitative offering to the database, and will from 2014 onwards be updated on a biannual basis. Database updates following the latest industry feedback and showing up-to-date forecasts are planned to be published biannually, with live updates throughout the year. Historic, current and 5-year forecast data will be available in an online pivot table format. Users can create data tables to their own designs and needs and compare data across different regions and countries. For more details, please contact: Mrs Cathy Galbraith IAL Consultants CP House, 97-107 Uxbridge Road Ealing London W5 5TL Telephone: +44 (0) 20 88 32 77 80 Fax: +44 (0) 20 85 66 49 31 Email: cgalbraith@brggroup.com Or visit our website: www.ialconsultants.com