Activity in the chemical industry remained positive. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) recently reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes ended the second quarter on a solid note, increasing 0.4 percent in June after a slightly revised 0.4 percent gain in May, and a 1.0 percent gain in April. All changes in the data are reported on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. According to the ACC,of the twenty-eight specialty chemical segments we monitor, eighteen expanded in June, nine experienced decline and one featured no change. During June, large market volume gains (1.0 percent and over) occurred in electronic chemicals and oilfield chemicals.
The overall specialty chemicals volume index was up 4.8 percent on a year-over-year (Y/Y) 3MMA basis. The index stood at 112.9 percent of its average 2012 levels in June. This is equivalent to 7.69 billion pounds (3.49 million metric tons). On a Y/Y basis, there were gains among twenty-one market and functional specialty chemical segments. Compared to last year, volumes were down in seven segments.
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 can 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. They may only have one or two uses, while commodities may have multiple or different applications for each chemical. Commodity chemicals make up 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 is the only timely source of market trends for twenty-eight market and functional specialty chemical segments. Chemistry directly touches over ninety-six percent of all manufactured goods, and trends in these specialty chemical segments provide a detailed view of trends in manufacturing. The data also sheds light on how various consumer end-use markets are performing compared to others in the marketplace.
