Global demand for polyurethane increasing

A new report says that worldwide demand for polyurethane will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% to reach 16.9m tons by 2016.

Asia Pacific will dominate the market and will account for 60% of global demand by 2016, compared to 53.5% in 2010.

Over the last decade, polyurethane manufacturing companies have moved into Asia in order to take advantage of lower production costs, and the increase in the number of production facilities in countries such as China is the primary reason for demand growth, says report author GBI Research.

Flexible and rigid polyurethane foams makes up the bulk of the total end-use segment and these materials, which are commonly used in the construction, automotive and transport, furniture and footwear industries, are expected to continue as the leading polyurethane products in the coming years.

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