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Business

New Markets Drive Chemical Commerce

While overall trade in chemicals stabilized last year, exports to developing regions grew

by Business Department
July 1, 2013 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 91, Issue 26

 

Compared with 2011—a huge growth year for chemical trade—2012 brought only a modest overall gain in imports and exports around the globe. The exception was in emerging economies, particularly in the Middle East and Latin America, where chemical trade continued to rise smartly.

In the U.S., low-cost natural gas, used as both fuel and feedstock, kept the chemical industry competitive in the export market last year. The industry held its historical position as the second-largest exporter of goods, after the machinery sector, and chemical exports from the U.S. stayed at a record level of $207 billion.

To download a PDF of the full article and tables, visit http://cenm.ag/trade2013.

Developing regions, specifically the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa, saw the biggest increase in chemical exports from the U.S. Together these regions made up more than one-third of U.S. exports last year. Europe is still the largest trading partner of the U.S. for both exports and imports; 50% of chemical imports into the U.S. come from Europe.

Overall, U.S. chemical imports shrank 1.3% in 2012, helping to boost the country’s chemical trade balance to $11.7 billion, the second-highest surplus of the past decade. Imports of organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, and fertilizers dropped the most.

In Europe, chemical exports expanded faster than imports in 2012, aided by a euro that was weakened by the European sovereign debt crisis. Exports to Saudi Arabia and Brazil grew briskly at 17.2% and 16.5%, respectively.

Canada saw foreign demand for its fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals rise by 6.3%; imports rose even faster at 12.4%. In contrast, exports of basic chemicals, which had been on the rise for the previous two years, reversed course and shrank by 12.5%. Canada’s overall trade deficit in chemicals increased to $14.8 billion.

Chemical trade in Asian countries shrank a bit in 2012, with some notable exceptions. Exports of inorganic chemicals from China jumped 19.2%. Interestingly, exports of pharmaceuticals from China grew by 8.7%, while imports jumped by a whopping 25.9%. In Japan, however, foreign trade in chemicals mostly decreased, except for medical material imports, which increased by 15.4%.

Interactive Tables

CANADA SHIPMENTS
The Canadian chemical and pharmaceutical sectors both slipped in 2012

CAPITAL SPENDING
Spending surged in Europe, while investments in the U.S. and Japan grew steadily

EUROPE COMPANY RESULTS
Despite the sluggish European economy, revenues increased for most firms

EUROPE SHIPMENTS
The Netherlands and Poland enjoyed Europe's strongest growth

JAPAN COMPANY RESULTS
Sumitomo and Teijin reported large losses in their latest fiscal year

R&D SPENDING
Expenditures grow in chemical firms, but some pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. are cutting back on research and development.

U.S. PRICE INDEX
Prices for paint soared, but overall, chemical product prices grew only slightly

U.S. COMPANY RESULTS
Only half of U.S. chemical and drug firms tracked by C&EN saw profits grow in 2012

U.S. SHIPMENTS
Overall chemical shipments were down slightly, but shipments of agricultural and coatings chemicals increased

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