MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global demand for polycarbonate (PC) was valued at USD13.50 bln in 2014, and is expected to reach USD18.50 bln in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% between 2015 and 2020, as per FLH with reference to Zion Research.
The PC market is primarily driven by growing demand from automotive industry across the globe. Increasing demand from food and beverage packaging and the medical packaging application is expected to boost the growth of the polycarbonate market during the years to come. However, environmental issue related with this polymer is major challenges that may hinder the growth of the market.
The PC market has been segmented based on application into automotive, electronics, construction, optical media, packaging industry and others. In 2014, the electronics was the dominant application segment in terms of total revenue generated and it accounted around 25% shares of the market. Heavy consumption of polycarbonate in the automotive industry is expected to be a major factor driving the market growth worldwide. Polycarbonate helps to reduce the weight of vehicle which increases the fuel efficiency and reduces impact on environment.
Asia-Pacific was the largest regional market for polycarbonate and accounted for over 65% share of the total demand in 2014. Growth in use of polycarbonate in various applications is also expected to boost demand for polycarbonate in the years to come. Europe was the second largest market for PC in 2014. This was majorly due to high demand for light weight and high strength material for the automotive and electronics application.
Some of the key player in the polycarbonate market includes Bayer Material Science AG, Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation, Trinseo (Styron), and Teijin Limited, SABIC Innovative Plastics, Chi Mei Corporation, Centroplast Engineering Plastics GmbH, Royal DSM, Aashi Kasei Chemical Corporation, Idemistu Kosan Co., Ltd and amongst others.
However, environmental issue related with this polymer is major challenges that may hinder the growth of the market.
We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, in October 2015, Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. announced that it would consolidate the production of polycarbonate resin, TARFLON, into Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation (FCFC), a core firm of Taiwan's Formosa Group to which the company has granted a license to use the relevant technology. The company decided to cease operation of PC production facility at its Chiba Plant (Ichihara City, Chiba) in December 2015 and consolidate the production carried out by the plant into FCFC. Granted a license by the company, FCFC has been engaged in production of polycarbonates since 2002.
MRC