28 Jan 2021
IAL notes single-digit declines for output and demand in thermoplastic polyurethanes sector
London – Global production of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) declined by 6.1% year-on-year in 2020 to around 740 kilotonnes, UK-based IAL Consultants has estimated.
Over 69% of production took place in the APAC region, with western Europe remaining the second largest producing region, followed by North America, noted IAL’s Global Overview of the Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market.
Noting the impact of the global pandemic on the market, the market analysis firm said: “output in APAC did not decline as much as in EMEA and the Americas.”
Global consumption of TPUs fell by 7.2% in 2020, with the EMEA region most affected by the crisis, said IAL. Consumption, it added, “also decreased considerably in South America because of other economic factors.”
The impact of Covid-19 was not as severe as on most other polyurethane product groups, IAL noting that global production of polyurethane overall has decreased by 10.9% in 2020.
Future recovery is highly dependent on the containment of the coronavirus in 2021, as well as the price development, according to the report.
More details to follow...
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