Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The polybutadiene (PBR) market is projected to register a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The market was negatively impacted due to COVID-19 in 2020. Owing to the pandemic scenarios, several countries around the world went into lockdown to curb the spreading of the virus. Major tire manufacturers have shut down plants due to the losses that occurred in 2020. For instance, the world's biggest tiremaker has shut eight tire plants between April and May 2020, also including its main passenger vehicle tire factory in Hikone, western Japan, and its main truck and bus tire manufacturing plant in Amagi, southern Japan. Thus, the COVID-19 impact is expected to affect the market growth negatively.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, growing demand from the transportation sector is expected to drive the market's growth.
• On the flipside, hazardous under long-term exposure and negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hinder the market's growth.
• The tire manufacturing segment is expected to dominate the market due to the consumption from the automotive and transportation sector.
• The Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market and is also likely to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Key Market TrendsIncreasing Demand from Tires Manufacturing

• Butadiene is used in the manufacturing of synthetic rubbers and elastomers that include polybutadiene rubber (PBR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), nitrile rubber (NR), and polychloroprene (Neoprene), all of which are used in the production of other goods and materials.
• PBR is used in the production of tires. Polybutadiene is largely used in the manufacturing of automobile tires. It has been estimated that the manufacturing process of tires consumes about 70% of the world's production of polybutadiene. It is primarily used as a sidewall in tires to improve fatigue caused by continuous flexing during the run. In addition, butadiene also finds various applications in other automobile parts as well.
• Polybutadiene provides benefits of low rolling resistance and high resistance to wear, in turn, providing tires long life and low fuel consumption rate.
• Despite an encouraging term of growth in the automotive sector during the past decade, the momentum slowed down in recent years. The sales and production of new vehicles are going down in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the United States. This affected the previously growing automotive production in most nations. Business models, the markets, and the competitive landscape are undergoing changes.​​ This is slowing the demand for polybutadiene rubber for tire manufacturing.
• According to the OICA data, global automotive production declined by around 5.2% and reached 91.78 million in 2019. ​The car sales declined by more than 3 million in 2019. In the first six months of 2020, automobile production witnessed a huge downfall across the globe owing to the impact of COVID-19. According to OICA, in 2020, the global automotive production in the first quarter was about 17,860 thousand units, in the second quarter was 31,133 thousand units and in the third quarter was 52,009 thousand units, declining about 23.1%, 32.4%, and 22.9% respectively, from the previous year at the same time.
• The car sales for the first ten months of 2020 in major global car markets of Europe, the United States, Japan, Brazil, India, and China were down by 27.3%, 17%, 14.7%, 30.9%, 24.6%, 10%, respectively in comparison to the previous year.
• However, with growing concerns related to environmental pollution from petrol and diesel-based vehicles, the production of electric vehicles is expected to pick up pace over the next five years.
• Hence such growing demand for electric vehicles in recent years and the upcoming consumer shift to electric vehicles is likely to create an opportunity for polybutadiene rubber (PBR) tires during the forecast period.
• All the aforementioned factors are expected to affect the usage of polybutadiene rubber in automotive applications.

China to Dominate the Asia-Pacific Region

• In the Asia-Pacific region, China is the largest economy in terms of GDP. The country witnessed about 6.1% growth in its GDP during 2019, even after the trade disturbance caused due to its trade war with the United States. China's economic growth rate in 2020 was initially expected to be moderate compared to the previous year. However, due to the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, China's economic growth registered 1.90% and is expected to witness recovery at a rate of 8.20% in 2021.
• China accounts for the major share of the region’s polybutadiene rubber market. In recent years, China had become the global largest producer, consumer, and importer of polybutadiene rubber.
• The Chinese automotive manufacturing industry is the largest in the world, with a production share of just over 28% in 2019. The industry witnessed a slowdown in 2018, wherein the production and sales declined. A similar trend continued in 2019, with the production declined to 25.7 million vehicles by dropped by about 7.5% year-on-year.
• The number of passenger cars produced in November 2020 is about 2.33 million, which registered a staggering 11.8% month-on-month growth, while 518 thousand commercial vehicles were produced in November with a 10.6% M-o-M growth. The number of passenger cars produced from January to November is down by 8.1% year-on-year compared to the same period last year, while commercial vehicle production increased by 22.2%. The uncertainties in the automobile industry are expected to impact the market studied.
• According to Statista Market Forecast, revenue in China's footwear market is projected to amount to USD 71,965 million in 2021. The market is expected to grow annually by a CAGR of over 5.5% from 2021-2025 and is expected to reach USD 90,289 million by 2025.
• Besides the growth of the automotive and footwear industries, China has a massive and growing market for sex dolls. This is also a major driver for the polybutadiene rubber market.
• The aforementioned factors are expected to have an impact on the growth of the polybutadiene rubber market in the region during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The polybutadiene rubber market is partially consolidated in nature. Some of the major players in the market include ARLANXEO, JSR Corporation, LANXESS, UBE INDUSTRIES LTD, and ZEON CORPORATION, among others.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned

ARLANXEO
JSR Corporation
KUMHO PETROCHEMICAL
LANXESS
LG Chem
Reliance Industries Limited
SABIC
SIBUR International GmbH
Synthos
Trinseo
UBE INDUSTRIES LTD
ZEON CORPORATION

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