Freedonia Focus Reports

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Thermoplastic Resins:
United States

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November 2013

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Highlights

Industry Overview
Market Size and Trends | Product Segmentation | Market Overview | Trade | Technology
Environmental and Regulatory Issues

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Demand Forecasts
Market Environment | Product Forecasts

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Resources

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Industry Structure
Industry Composition | Industry Leaders | Additional Companies Cited
www.freedoniafocus.com

Thermoplastic Resins: United States

ABOUT THIS REPORT

Scope & Method

This report forecasts US thermoplastic resin demand in pounds to 2017. Total demand
is segmented by resin in terms of:

high density polyethylene (HDPE)

linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
low density polyethylene (LDPE)
polypropylene (PP)
polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
polystyrene (PS)
other thermoplastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS),
polycarbonate (PC), and bioplastics.

Reported quantities of thermoplastic resins are limited to neat resin excluding additives
or fillers. For the purposes of this report, thermoplastics and thermoplastic resins are
used interchangeably.
Aggregate demand in 2012 for the seven leading resin types is segmented by market as
follows:

packaging
consumer and institutional
construction
other markets such as transportation equipment, electrical and
electronics, and furniture and furnishings.

To illustrate historical trends, total demand is provided in an annual series from 2002 to
2012, while the various resin segments are reported at five-year intervals for 2007 and
2012. Forecasts emanate from the identification and analysis of pertinent statistical
relationships and other historical trends/events as well as their expected
progression/impact over the forecast period. Changes in quantities between reported
years of a given total or segment are typically provided in terms of five-year compound
annual growth rates (CAGRs). For the sake of brevity, forecasts are generally stated in
smoothed CAGR-based descriptions to the forecast year, such as demand is projected
to rise 3.2% annually through 2017. The result of any particular year over that period,
however, may exhibit volatility and depart from a smoothed, long-term trend, as
historical data typically illustrate.
Key macroeconomic indicators are also provided at five-year intervals with CAGRs for
the years corresponding to other reported figures. Other various topics, including

2012 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Thermoplastic Resins: United States

profiles of pertinent leading suppliers, are covered in this report. A full outline of report
items by page is available in the Table of Contents.

Sources
Thermoplastic Resins: United States represents the synthesis and analysis of data from
various primary, secondary, macroeconomic, and demographic sources including:

firms participating in the industry, and their suppliers and customers

government/public agencies
national, regional, and international non-governmental organizations
trade associations and their publications
the business and trade press
The Freedonia Group Consensus Forecasts dated August 2013
the findings of other industry studies by The Freedonia Group.

Specific sources and additional resources are listed in the Resources section of this
publication for reference and to facilitate further research.

Industry Codes
The topic of this report is related to the following industry codes:
NAICS/SCIAN 2007
North American Industry Classification System

SIC
Standard Industry Codes

325211
325991

2671

326112
326113
326122
326140
424610

Plastics Material and Resin Mfg

Custom Compounding of Purchased
Resins
Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet
(including Laminated) Mfg
Unlaminated Plastics Film and Sheet
(except Packaging) Mfg
Plastics Pipe and Pipe Fitting Mfg
Polystyrene Foam Product Mfg
Plastics Materials and Basic Forms and
Shapes Merchant Wholesalers

2821
3081
3084
3086
3087
5162

Packaging Paper and Plastics Film,

Coated and Laminated
Plastics Materials, Synthetic Resins, and
Nonvulcanizable Elastomers
Unsupported Plastics Film and Sheet
Plastics Pipe
Plastics Foam Products
Custom Compounding of Purchased
Plastics Resins
Plastics Materials and Basic Forms and
Shapes (merchant wholesalers)

Copyright & Licensing

The full report is protected by copyright laws of the United States of America and
international treaties. The entire contents of the publication are copyrighted by The
Freedonia Group, Inc.

2012 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Thermoplastic Resins: United States

Table of Contents
Section

Page

Highlights .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Industry Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Market Size & Trends ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Chart 1 | United States: Thermoplastic Resin Demand Trends, 2002-2012 .............................................. 2
Product Segmentation ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Chart 2 | United States: Thermoplastic Resin Demand by Type, 2012 ...................................................... 3
Polyethylene. .............................................................................................................................................. 3
High Density Polyethylene .................................................................................................................... 4
Linear Low Density Polyethylene .......................................................................................................... 4
Low Density Polyethylene. .................................................................................................................... 5
Polypropylene............................................................................................................................................. 5
Polyvinyl Chloride. ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Polyethylene Terephthalate........................................................................................................................ 6
Polystyrene................................................................................................................................................. 7
Other .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Market Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Chart 3 | United States: Thermoplastic Resin Demand by Market, 2012 ................................................... 9
Packaging................................................................................................................................................... 9
Consumer & Institutional. ......................................................................................................................... 10
Construction. ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Other. ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
Trade ............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Chart 4 | US: Thermoplastic Resin Trade Trends, 2002-2012 (million pounds, excludes niche resins) .. 13
Technology .................................................................................................................................................... 14
Environmental & Regulatory Issues............................................................................................................... 16
Demand Forecasts .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Market Environment ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Table 1 | United States: Key Indicators for Thermoplastic Resin Demand (billion 2005 dollars) ............. 18
Product Forecasts.......................................................................................................................................... 19
Table 2 | United States: Thermoplastic Resin Demand by Type (million pounds) ................................... 19
Polyethylene. ............................................................................................................................................ 19
High Density Polyethylene. ................................................................................................................. 20
Linear Low Density Polyethylene. ....................................................................................................... 20
Low Density Polyethylene. .................................................................................................................. 20
Polypropylene........................................................................................................................................... 20
Polyvinyl Chloride. .................................................................................................................................... 21
Polyethylene Terephthalate...................................................................................................................... 21
Polystyrene............................................................................................................................................... 21
Other. ....................................................................................................................................................... 22
Industry Structure ................................................................................................................................................ 23
Industry Composition ..................................................................................................................................... 23
Table 3 | United States: Major Suppliers of Thermoplastic Resins .......................................................... 23
Industry Leaders ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Alfa SAB de CV ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Exxon Mobil Corporation .......................................................................................................................... 25
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd ...................................................................................................................... 26
Additional Companies Cited .......................................................................................................................... 27
Resources ........................................................................................................................................................... 28
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2012 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.