World Thermoplastic Elastomers - The Freedonia Group

Market EnvironmentThe Market Environment Sectiondiscusses key indicators that drivedemand for world thermoplasticelastomers, including motor vehicletrends, the outlook for manufacturing,and Freedonia’s uniquely developedmacroeconomic indicators.This information provides you with anunderstanding and an analysis of theclimate in which the global thermoplasticelastomers industry operates andhelps you build your market strategy tosustain long-term growth.MARKET ENVIRONMENTPer Capita Demand for Thermoplastic ElastomersThermoplastic elastomers, which were developed to bridge the performance gapbetween synthetic rubber and conventional thermoplastics, are often described as“next generation” rubber. In functional terms, this means that the use of TPEsSAMPLE PAGEtends to be restricted to economies that have developed advanced positions in themanufacture and compounding of synthetic rubber and thermoplastics. Further,use of TPEs is concentrated in major durables, particularly automobiles, industrialmachinery, appliances and related items (i.e., lawn care equipment), which tends tolimit demand to countries with major positions in the design of these equipmenttypes. The design element is crucial, as it is product designers, prototypers andengineers that often determine the material composition of TPE-containingitems. For this reason, TPE demand does not necessarily rise commensuratelywith output of consumer goods, since many low wage countries are used simply aslow-wage assembly centers for labor-intensive products, with the product design,planning and testing aspects remaining in major developed countries.As is apparent from the following chart, there is a strong positive correlationbetween income levels (represented here by real gross domestic product per capita)and TPE demand per capita (presented in kilograms). In 2001, global TPEdemand was equivalent to 0.26 kilograms per capita, or aboutone-quarter of akilogram per person. The higher per capita TPE demand levels occur in the US,SAMPLE PAGECanada, the major economies of Western Europe (particularly Belgium, Germanyand the UK), and the export-oriented economies of Asia (particularly Japan, SouthKorea and Taiwan). China’s per capita TPE demand remains below the globalaverage, though the country’s domestic market for these materials grew at doubledigitrates throughout the 1990s. Demand for TPEs remains negligible throughoutmost of Latin America (with the exception of Brazil), Eastern Europe and Africa/Mideast. In most cases, countries in these regions are still focused on developing© Copyright by The Freedonia Group, Inc.6World Thermoplastic Elastomers #1553Freedonia Industry Study