Market volumes for specialty chemicals decreased in December by 0.1%, following a 0.7% decline in November, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The declines were reported on a three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis.
Despite the overall decrease, 17 of the specialty chemical market segments tracked by ACC expanded in December (with 10 retreating and 1 flat). “Weakness in oilfield chemicals and other segments have weighed on overall volumes,” the ACC report notes. In November, only 10 segments expanded.
For December, the segments experiencing gains of 1.0% or greater (on a 3MMA basis) were the following: adhesives and sealants; plastic additives; plasticizers; and textile specialties.
The downturn in the oil and gas sector has affected headline volumes, the ACC report points out. On a year-over-year basis, gains are actually somewhat widespread in many specialty chemical segments, with volumes up year-over-year in 16 of the 28 segments, the report says.
While overall specialty volumes fell 0.3% in 2015, if oilfield chemicals are excluded, there would be a net gain in volume, by 2.8% for the year, the ACC report said.
Elsewhere, the ACC’s U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (CPRI) rose by 0.2% in December, following a 0.5% gain in November and flat growth in October. The U.S. CPRI is ahead of 2014 levels by 2.0%, the ACC report notes.