New Market Report: United Kingdom Petrochemicals Report Q1 2015

British rubber and plastic production saw a growth surge in 2014 and with the domestic market likely to be buoyant in 2015 it is likely to hold up in the months ahead. However, BMI warns that the eurozone's woes are not yet over and combined with ongoing austerity measures will pose a significant risk to the petrochemicals outlook.

BMI estimates that chemicals output grew 3.8% y-o-y in 2014, while rubber and plastic production rose 11.9% as rapid growth in production was underway. The rebound came after petrochemicals underperformed compared to the rest of the industrial sector. Key end-use markets such as the construction and automotive sectors experienced strong growth in line with the overall economic recovery.

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The positive performance was achieved in spite of some capacity cutbacks, including the closure of a 320,000tpa cracker and associated butadiene unit in Grangemouth and a 168,000tpa polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant operated by Indorama. Ineos is also closing a 105,000tpa PVC unit and Lotte Chemical UK is shuttering its 500,000tpa purified terephthalic acid (PTA).

* The industry is moving towards cheaper ethane feedstock, imported from the US. Grangemouth's 700,000tpa cracker has led the way with Sabic following. A shift to lower cost ethane feedstock from the expensive naphtha feed that has typically been used could help the UK regain some competitive advantage. However, US ethane does not present a longer-term solution to the UK's waning competitiveness in the petrochemicals industry due to overcapacity of US (and global) ethane crackers and a convergence of oil and gas prices.
* The construction industry is set to see growth slow from 4.3% in 2014 to 3.5% in 2015, driven by the residential sector. This should boost consumption of polymers used in construction, such as piping and PVC windows and doors.
* Total automotive production growth is set to moderate from 5.4% in 2014 to 2.3% in 2015. This will have a corresponding effect on consumption...

The United Kingdom Petrochemicals Report has been researched at source, and features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s market assessment and independent forecasts for key petrochemicals sub-sectors. The report also analyses the impact of regulatory changes, recent developments and the background macroeconomic outlook and features competitive landscapes comparing companies by products and services, sales, market share, investments, projects, partners and expansion strategies.

BMI's United Kingdom Petrochemicals Report provides industry professionals and strategists, sector analysts, trade associations and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the British petrochemicals industry.

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