North American Specialty Chemicals Industry, Forecast to 2020

This growth insight explores opportunities for process equipment companies in the North American region. It provides an analysis of how the landscape in the specialty chemicals industry is changing, which is primarily propelled by volatility of oil and gas prices, wherein the segments that are most likely to be impacted are adhesives and coatings. Opportunities in terms of the investment/CAPEX scenarios, boom in petrochemical segment activity, and how this trend will likely impact the growth of the specialty chemicals industry in the region are discussed.

This research study identifies the latest trends in terms of industry, economy, and technology in the specialty chemicals industry segment for pumps and valves in the region. A list of upcoming chemicals projects provides announcement dates, project target names, acquirer/acquirer nation, deal value, and product category. The study concludes with an analysis of forecasted growth trends for the process equipment market during the forecast period (2016–2020).

Key Questions This Study Will Answer:
•     What factors influence the growth of specialty chemicals?     
•     What are the key capacity and growth opportunities that can be expected from the North American specialty chemicals market?
•     What key investments are being made or planned in the specialty chemicals segment in North America?
•     What are the key benefits of investing in specialty chemicals and how does this impact the pumps equipment industry globally?

Key Findings and Trends:
•     The adhesives, paints, and coatings products generate the highest percentage of revenue compared to other types of products, which is driving the market. However, the market is expected to expand somewhere between 1 and 3% between 2016 and 2018 due to the volatility of oil and gas prices.
•     A ‘customer focus’ business model is applied for specialty chemicals in contrast to the ‘cost focus’ model used for basic chemicals. There is end-user transition to batch-centric specialty production due to low volume and high margins.
•     Specialty chemical companies transacting in the role of buyers have consistently targeted the commodity/basic chemicals industry, which is indicative of a trend in backward integration in an attempt to obtain some control on their feedstock prices.
•     Investments for new petrochemical projects alone could total $20 billion with an additional $23 billion between 2015 and 2020, likely for the development of other downstream and specialty products.
•     The diminishing lines of differentiation as the chemical industry consolidates, coupled with the requirement of application-based chemicals, are driving developments in specialty chemicals.