Butadiene Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Butadiene Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The butadiene market size was estimated at 12,430 kilotons in 2020, and the market is projected to register a CAGR of over 3.5% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. Considering the ongoing pandemic scenario, the automotive manufacturing units and building construction projects were temporarily halted. Thus, this negatively impacted the demand for styrene-butadiene and polybutadiene rubber, which are used in tires, building crack fillers, concrete additives, etc., which declined the demand for butadiene. However, the use of protective gloves made from nitrile rubber has increased in the current situation, thus stimulating the demand for the butadiene market.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, the developing downstream market in Asia-Pacific is expected to drive the market’s growth.
• Polybutadiene dominated the market holding a share of almost 30%. However, the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
• The innovation of bio-butadiene to produce products like synthetic rubber, thermoplastic elastomers, nylon, etc., is likely to create opportunities for the market in the coming years.

Key Market TrendsPolybutadiene (PBR) to Dominate the Market

• Polybutadiene rubber (BR) is a synthetic rubber used as a substitute for natural rubber. Polybutadiene rubber can be produced by two processes, namely anionic polymerization or coordination polymerization of 1,3-butadiene in the non-polar solvent.
• Commercially, polybutadiene is available in two types, i.e., solid polybutadiene and liquid polybutadiene, out of which, solid polybutadiene holds the larger share in terms of consumption. Furthermore, solid polybutadiene is divided into four types i.e., high cis, low cis, high trans, and high vinyl polybutadiene, depending on the choice of the catalyst system.
• Polybutadiene rubber (BR) offers properties such as resistance to low temperatures, excellent elastic properties, high wear resistance owning to low coefficient of friction and strength properties, and low hysteresis loss. Additionally, polybutadiene rubber offers high flexibility and high resistance to dynamic fatigue at low temperatures.
• The operating temperature of polybutadiene rubber products ranges from 60°C to 100°C, for long-term applications and for short term applications optimum temperature range is 60°C to 120°C.
• Polybutadiene rubber is widely used in the manufacturing of tire treads for commercial and passenger vehicles, automotive components, covers for pneumatic and water hoses, golf balls, footwear, industrial parts, rubber isolators and casters, inner tubes of hoses for sandblasting, conveyor belts, shoe soles, and polystyrene modifier.
• PBR is also used to manufacture golf balls, various elastic objects, and to coat or encapsulate electronic assemblies, offering high electrical resistivity. In addition, it is further used in railway pads, bridge blocks, and as a fuel in combination with an oxidizer in various solid rocket boosters, such as Japan's H-IIB launch vehicle.
• China accounts for the major share of the Asia-Pacific region in polybutadiene rubber market. In recent years, China had become the global largest producer, consumer, and importer of polybutadiene rubber which is expected to boost the demand of PBR which in turn increase the market demand of Butadiene.
• Owing to its excellent elastic properties, polybutadiene rubber is also used as an insulation solution for wires and cables used in the electrical industry
• Companies such as UBE INDUSTRIES, LTD., China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), INEOS, Mitsubishi Corporation, Kumho Petrochemical, NOVA Chemicals Corporate are engaged in the manufacturing of polybutadiene rubber.
• Owing to all these factors, the market for butadiene is likely to grow globally during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific Region to Dominate the Market

• The Asia-Pacific region dominated the global butadiene market. The downstream market in Asia-Pacific witnessed a huge spur in the past few years, owing to which the demand for butadiene has witnessed a rapid increase due to its requirement.
• China is one of the largest chemical manufacturing hubs in the world, with wide range of industries. The Chinese butadiene market is expected to witness significant growth. Due to the presence of a large number of indigenous players.
• Furthermore, China is projected to produce 704 million tires per year by 2025, including 527 million passenger radial tires, 148 million truck/bus radial tires, 29 million bias truck tires, 20,000 extra-large industrial tires, 12 million agricultural tires, and 54,000 aircraft tires. In addition, China will produce 120.7 million motorcycle tires and 420 million bicycle tires annually by 2025. This is quite instrumental in propelling the market demand butadiene in the country over the forecast period.
• In India, there are 41 tire manufacturers in India and around 6,000 non-tire manufacturers producing seals, conveyor belts, extruded and molded rubber profiles to be used in automotive, railway, defense, aerospace, and other applications.
• Indian truck and bus tire production increased by 35% in December of the year 2020 over the same month the previous year. Truck and bus tire output fell by 8% with 126.4 lakh units from April to December of the year 2020 compared to the same time the previous year. In recent months, motorcycle tire production has improved. Motorcycle tire output grew by 25% in double digits with the production of 69.19 lakh units in December 2020.
• Additionally, India is currently the second highest consumer and producer of footwear in the world. The country is currently producing around 9% of the global annual production of the footwear. The footwear sector in India is one of the largest in the region behind China.
• Apart from this, the Asia-Pacific region is the largest producer of vehicles across the world. Butadiene is used to produce intermediates like styrene-butadiene (SBR) and others, which are further used to manufacture automotive products include tires, conveyor belts, etc.
• According to the OICA, 2020, total industrial production in India was about 3,394,446 vehicles, including passenger, commercial, three-wheeler, two-wheeler, and quadricycles, which declined by about 25% compared to 4,524,366 vehicles produced over the same period last year. However, in Q1 2021, the country produced 1,291,497 vehicles, which increased 31% over 986,097 vehicles produced in Q1 2020. The government's reforms such as “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat” and “Make in India” programs are likely to boost the automotive industry in the near future.
• According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the automotive production decline by about 2% in 2020. The country produced 25,225,242 units in 2020, which declined from 25,750, 650 units in 2019. However in Q1, 2021, the production reached 6,352,028 which increased 81.7% over Q1 2020. The manufacturing activities are picking up pace, driving the demand for the butadiene.
• Therefore, the aforementioned factors are expected to show a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

Competitive Landscape

The global butadiene market is fragmented in nature, with the top five players occupying less than 30% of the market share as of 2020. These companies include China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), China National Petroleum Corporation, TPC Group, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, among others.

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Companies Mentioned

IBM Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Internap Corporation
Packet Inc. (An Equinix Inc. Company)
Scaleway Inc.
Amazon Web Services Inc
Rackspace Inc.
CenturyLink, Inc.
LightEdge Solutions, Inc

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