Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) announces the completion of the 2009 World Butadiene Analysis, an annual global study that covers the future outlook for supply, demand, production, capacity, trade, pricing and profitability of the global butadiene and derivatives industries for the period 2003 to 2013. Included with the analysis is access to CMAI’s online capacity and supply/demand databases with a mid-term update. This analysis is a necessary resource for business managers and planning professionals who need to make strategic business decisions based on the recent unpredictability in the global financial markets and fluctuations in energy prices.

The vast majority of butadiene is extracted from the crude C4 coproduct of ethylene. CMAI experts forecast the crude C4 market balance to tighten globally from 2008-2013. Global supply production will be enough to meet demand, but regional market differences will continue. In North America, crude C4 availability will limit butadiene production as a lightening of ethylene cracker feed slates and limited imports restrict availability. Crude C4 supply will also be an issue in Northeast Asia as ethylene feed slates in the region shift to LPG’s and operating rates come under over supply pressure.

Growth is expected to be most rapid in Asia, with more developed markets like North America and West Europe experiencing slow to flat growth over the next five years. Global butadiene demand is expected to grow at a pace lower than the 3.2 percent annual rate experienced over the past five years. For example, the outlook for worldwide butadiene in its largest end-use sector, the production of commodity based synthetic rubber and latex, is anticipated to only average around 2 percent per year. A slowing global economy is also causing slower demand for rubber goods, especially in the automotive sector.

As the butadiene market shifts to Asia, the vast majority of new butadiene production and consumption plants will be located in this region. More than 80 percent of global butadiene capacity additions planned between 2008 and 2013 will be located in Asia, mostly in China. Nevertheless, projections for the continued rapid growth of butadiene demand in the region will cause Asia to remain a net importer. Operating rates are expected to be somewhat lower than the extremely high levels of the past three years, as projects, especially those planned for three to five years out, experience typical delays from their stated schedules.

CMAI’s 2009 World Butadiene Analysis is available in book and CD-ROM format, with access to CMAI’s Online Capacity and Supply/Demand databases. With updates to the Capacity database as changes in the marketplace occur, and an annual mid-year update to the Supply/Demand database, clients find this database access to be a necessary tool for their strategic business decisions.

CMAI is the premier provider of Market and Business Advisory Services offering a unique combination of consulting analytics and expertise for the global chemical, plastics, fibers and chlor-alkali industries. With offices in Houston, New York, London, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Singapore and Shanghai, CMAI has provided expert advisory services to a broad base of companies across multiple value chains and geographies since 1979. Clients to CMAI services include chemical and oil companies, technology & EPC companies, banking and financial institutions, plastic converters, textile & apparel manufacturers, brand-owners, grocers/retailers, government agencies and trading companies.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Energy Prices. Tags: Asia banking chemical Chemical Market Associates Inc. China Dubai Dusseldorf Energy Prices expert advisory services Germany Greater London Houston London New York North America Oil Energy Online Capacity plastics rubber goods Shanghai Singapore synthetic rubber United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.