U.S. specialty chemical market volumes declined in June by 0.4%, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The June decline follows a 0.3% drop in May and a 1.1% April.
Of the 28 specialty chemical market segments monitored by ACC, 11 expanded in June (compared to 10 expanding in May and 8 in April). Two remained the same, and the other 15 declined. Large gains (1.0% or more) were observed only for rubber processing chemicals, the ACC report says. Smaller gains were seen in adhesives and sealants, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, food additives, industrial and institutional cleaning chemicals, lubricant additives, mining chemicals, plastic additives, plasticizers and water management chemicals, the report says.
The overall specialty chemical market volume is 1.4% lower than last year at this time, on a three-month-moving-average basis, ACC says.