Films and No End: Ceresana Expects the Global Market for LDPE to Grow

KONSTANZ, Germany - Dec. 2, 2014 - PRLog -- Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is one of the most commonly produced plastics and mainly used for packaging. According to a new study published by the market research institute Ceresana, low-density polyethylene worth almost US$33 billion was sold worldwide in 2013. Ceresana expects global sales to rise by 1.5% p.a. until 2021.

Largest Growth Potential Lies East

Asia-Pacific single-handedly processed about 7.1 million tonnes of LDPE in 2013. About 58% of this amount were consumed in China. Asian countries, China and India in particular, and the Middle East will remain the largest growth markets for LDPE. Due to strong competition by other types of polyethylene, future growth rates for LDPE demand are likely to fall short of overall economic development. The LDPE markets in Western Europe and North America are largely saturated already and will grow only slightly.

New Large Factories

Several world regions are rapidly increasing their production capacities for LDPE. LDPE output in the Middle East is projected to rise at a high growth rate of 5.0% per year. New large-scale petrochemical complexes will commence production in upcoming years. These are often joint ventures of large international companies and regional enterprises. Various larger productions sites are to be constructed in North America and Asia-Pacific as well. Western Europe, on the other hand, will see the closure of LDPE plants.

Above All Films

LDPE is most commonly used for the production of films. About 63% of total demand stem from film production, especially packaging films as well as bags and sacks. Other important applications are rigid packaging and construction products, which can profit from new investments in infrastructure around the globe. In Asia, on the other hand, it is especially films, LDPE packaging films in particular, that offer the largest growth potential, since Asian countries are increasingly adapting to Western standards for packaged food.

Extrusion Dominating

In a global comparison, film extrusion is the most common technology for processing LDPE. Other technologies, namely extrusion coating, injection molding, and other processes like blow molding and rotomolding, account for a market share of only 37%. The various world regions show only minor differences in regard to processing technologies. For example, extrusion coating is disproportionally often used in North America, while Eastern European countries use large amounts of LDPE not only in film extrusion, but also injection molding.

The Study in Brief:

Chapter 1 provides a presentation and analysis of the LDPE market – including forecasts up to 2021: for each region, demand, revenues and production will be explained. Additionally, demand per processing technology (film extrusion, extrusion coating, other extrusion, injection molding, and other processes) will be analyzed. Chapter 2 provides 35 country profiles which list LDPE demand, revenues as well as imports and exports. Demand for LDPE split by applications is examined in more detail for the 16 largest countries. Chapter 3 offers a detailed analysis of applications for LDPE. Data on demand development in individual applications is given for the world as a whole and split by the regions Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The applications analyzed separately are packaging films, bags and sacks, other films, rigid packaging, construction products, and other applications. Chapter 4 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers of LDPE, clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, profile summary, products, and applications. Extensive profiles of 79 manufacturers are given, including LyondellBasell, ExxonMobil Chemical, SABIC, Dow Chemical, NPC, SINOPEC, CNPC, Braskem, Borealis, and Mitsubishi Chemical.

Further information: http://www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/plastics/polyet...


About Ceresana:
Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector and operates branch offices in Constance, Vienna and Hong Kong. For more than 10 years, it has been supplying several thousand customers from 55 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from practical consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 90 independent multi-client market studies. The Ceresana business analysts are specialists in markets chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, packaging, and construction materials.