Global production of chemicals rose by 10.2% overall in 2010, according to data included in the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends report. Gains for the month of December of last year were 0.5%, a moderated pace from earlier in 2010.
Taken as a whole, the previous peak of global chemical industry production was reached by the end of last year, “turning global recovery into expansion,” the report says. However, some nations and geographic regions continue to lag and have not reached the prior peak, ACC adds.
On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, global chemicals production was up 6.9% in December when taken as a three-month moving average (3MMA). The year-over-year gains have slowed slightly for each of the last four months. Despite the slower pace, ACC says that “Most leading indicators of global industrial activity signal gains into early 2011, and a pick-up later.”
On a Y/Y, 3MMA basis, chemical production volumes were up 1.9% in North America for December, while Latin America was up 2.9%. The totals for Western Europe (4.9%), Central and Eastern Europe (14.3%) and Africa and the Middle East (4.2%) were higher, according too the ACC data. The Asia-Pacific region 11.5% despite a slight decline in Japan.
All segments of the chemical industry “have expanded from the trough of the recessionary downturn,” the ACC says. “The most pronounced recovery has occurred in cyclical segments, such as petrochemicals and organic chemicals, plastic resins, synthetic rubber, manmade fibers and coatings,” the report states.
In the U.S., chemical production increases were observed in all geographic regions for December, according to the ACC data, led by the Gulf Coast and Ohio Valley regions, with Y/Y, 3MMA changes of 8.5% and 5.0%, respectively. Gains in other U.S. regions ranged from 0.2% to 2.8%.