Chemical Manufacturing

Chemical Manufacturing

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry transform organic and inorganic raw materials by a chemical process and formulate products. Major companies in the US include Dow, DuPont, and Pfizer. Major companies outside the US include BASF (Germany), Formosa Plastics (Taiwan), Roche (Switzerland), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), and Sinopec Group (China).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The overall health of the US economy drives the demand for chemical industry since chemicals are used to make a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. The profitability of individual companies is closely tied to efficient operations. Big companies have economies of scale in purchasing and production. Small companies can compete effectively by producing specialty products, of which there are a large number. The US industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for about 50% of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products of the chemical manufacturing industry include thermoplastic resin and plastic materials, accounting for about 10% of the industry's revenue. Other products include liquefied refinery gases (about 5%), fuel ethanol (about 5%), and pharmaceutical preparations (less than 5%).