Report shows growth in plastics additives industry

Demand from China has helped drive growth in the plastic additives industry, pushing the industry to 12.2 million tons in 2007, according to the new Global Plastic Additives report from Townsend Polymer Services and Information.

According to the report, the emerging Chinese market is the most important mega trend affecting the additives business. Exploding demand for both domestically processed and imported plastics, especially in PVC, has resulted in China accounting for 28 per cent of worldwide additives volume. The country surpassed all other reporting regions.

Plasticizers, predominantly those used in PVC, remain the largest product category. However, the report found that the use of flame retardants grew at one of the fastest rates worldwide for all additives.

For more information about the study’s findings, contact Townsend Polymer Services and Information.