U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes are experiencing a rebound following the winter storms, rising 3.1% in March, after a 4.5% decline in February, according to data from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Of the 28 specialty chemical segments that ACC monitors, 24 expanded in March, up from three in February and 21 in January. Four segments declined in March. On a sequential basis, diffusion was 86%, up from 11% in February and 77% in January. Nineteen segments featured gains of 1.0% or more.
During March, overall specialty chemicals volumes were off 1.2% on a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis. Volumes stood at 107.1% of their average 2012 levels in February. This is equivalent to 7.29 billion pounds (3.31 million metric tons). On a year-earlier basis, gains occurred in 19 chemical segments. On a year-earlier basis, diffusion was 68% in March.
Specialty chemicals are materials manufactured on the basis of the unique performance or function and provide a wide variety of effects on which many other sectors and end-use products rely. They may be individual molecules or mixtures of molecules, known as formulations. The physical and chemical characteristics of the single molecule or mixtures along with the composition of the mixtures influence the performance end product. Individual market sectors that rely on such products include automobile, aerospace, agriculture, cosmetics and food, among others.
Specialty chemicals differ from commodity chemicals. Specialties may only have one or two uses, whereas commodities may have multiple or different applications for each chemical. Commodity chemicals comprise most of the production volume in the global marketplace, while specialty chemicals make up most of the diversity in commerce at any given time and are relatively high value, with greater market growth rates.
This data set is the only timely source of market trends for 28 market and functional specialty chemical segments. Chemistry directly touches over 96% of all manufactured goods, and trends in these specialty chemical segments provide a detailed view of trends in manufacturing. The data also shed light on how various consumer end-use markets are performing compared to others in the marketplace.