SOCMA Members Expect 2010 Sales To Rise

A majority of the companies that responded to a survey by the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates, a trade group that represents batch chemical makers, expects business to improve by the end of 2010. The economic recovery has brought some optimism to company executives, 90% of whom say sales will increase this year. The chemical firms had a difficult 2009, with 67% reporting that sales decreased versus the previous year. The decline was blamed on the state of the U.S. and world economies, as well as that of the overall chemical industry. In contrast, manufacturers were mostly concerned about oil and natural gas prices when the last survey was conducted in 2008. Custom manufacturing was responsible for more than three-quarters of sales at 36% of the firms surveyed in 2009, compared with only 23% of the firms in 2008. And there is hope that the trend of output reduction will abate. In 2009, more than half of the companies reported running at a mere 50–74% of capacity. But more than half reported that they are not likely to or have no plans to cut output in 2010.