Worldwide Carbon Black Market Over 12 Million Metric Tons by 2015
Tires and rubber products represent the major end-use applications, accounting for about 90% of global carbon black market, as stated by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Developing economies in Asia Pacific, Middle East/Africa and Latin America emerge as the largest and the most lucrative markets in the upcoming years. Increasing level of disposable personal income in these regions is expected to generate healthy demand for automobiles and other consumer applications thereby translating into higher demand.
Asia-Pacific represents the largest market for carbon black in the world, with a strong hold of 37% share. Developed economies such as the US and Western Europe are expected to display flat demand though use of specialty blacks is likely to pick up fastest in these regions. Consumption of carbon black in tires is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 3.6% during 2001-2010. The U.S. market for carbon black is estimated at about 1.6 million metric tons.
The virgin carbon black industry is likely to come under increased pressure from governments and environmental groups, as this product is a significant greenhouse gas emitter. Demand for carbon black in paints and coatings, and inks is expected to show an increase over the next five years. Demand for non-rubber applications that mainly use specialty blacks will display significant increase. Plastic and printing inks are likely to account for significant share of specialty black demand. Another emerging application area for specialty carbon black is metallurgy. Moreover, as special blacks commands higher price than the widely used furnace blacks, they offer higher margins to suppliers. Furthermore, the demand for special blacks is not influenced by the cyclicality in the rubber and motor vehicle industries.
Automotive industry is a significant contributor to global economic activity. Vast size of the industry has a serious impact on diverse industries and sectors, both upstream and downstream. The automobile industry has been witnessing establishment of new manufacturing facilities, especially in China, South America and Central Europe, as major manufacturers seek for new destinations to set up plants and take advantage of local operations. This resulted in tire manufacturers opening new units in vicinity of automobile production centers. The moving production landscape ultimately resulted in increasing globalization of carbon black producers.
Silica and other silanes are expected to offer a serious challenge to carbon black in the future. Silica and other silanes are fast emerging as major substitutes to carbon black due to better performance and environmental friendly nature. These products reduce rolling resistance in tires and at the same time improve fuel efficiency. As a result, these products are increasingly finding usage in tires market. Some of the OEM green tires already use silica to the tune of 65 percent by weight.
The report, titled “Carbon Black: A Global Strategic Business Report”, published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market overview, competitive analysis, markets trends, product overview, product introductions/innovations, and recent industry activity. The report analyzes market data and analytics in volume sales for regions such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), Latin America and Rest of World for the period 1991-2015. The study also analyzes the Carbon Black market by the following end-use segments – Tires, Rubber Products, Plastic, Inks, Paints & Coatings and Other end-uses.
Key players dominating the global Carbon Black market include Aditya Birla Group/Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, Alexandria Carbon Black Company SAE, Cabot Corporation, Cancarb Limited, China Synthetic Rubber Corporation, Columbian Chemicals Company, Continental Carbon Company, Evonik Degussa GmbH, Degussa Engineered Carbons LP, Evonik Degussa (China) Co., Ltd., Korea Carbon Black Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Philips Carbon Black Ltd., Senka Carbon Private Limited, Sid Richardson Carbon & Energy Co., Sosnogorsk Gas Processing Works, Thai Tokai Carbon Product Co., Ltd., and Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd.