Markets Technical Thermoplastics General

Research centre opened in South Korea / Focus on polymers and renewable energies / University location links industry with academia

New polymer R&D centre opens in Lyon / Collaboration involving all key French producers

Global demand expanding by 4.5% per year / PC and PA dominate market with highest growth rates / BCC Research study

US demand to grow by nearly 10% per year to 2019 / Rebound in construction and electronics sector to fuel growth / Freedonia report

US demand forecast to rise by 2.6% per year to 2019 / Freedonia study

Swiss franc's gains hit plastics industry particularly hard / Exports cave in

Engineering thermoplastics consumption recovers slightly in 2013 / Gains driven by ABS and PMMA / Import volumes of PC, PA and SAN down / Asian producers increasingly step into the fold / Low local capacity utilisation rates / Plastinfo report

European market to rise by 8.3% per year to 2019 / Growth driven by need for lightweight materials / Composites increasingly important / Frost & Sullivan report

2.7m t of engineering thermoplastics consumed in 2012 / National strategy to raise domestic output / Self-sufficiency does not preclude imports

Standard plastics stagnate / Growth of 6% for engineering thermoplastics in 2012 / Market dominated by foreign capacities / Growing surpluses with PC and POM / Another grand "Chinaplas" comes to an end

Innovation centre opens in Shanghai / Expands global network

Engineering thermoplastics market contracts slightly in 2012 / Imports from Europe and Asia on the rise / Russian production still too low / Western European quality often not matched / Plastinfo report

Automotive output soars 20% in January / Slowdown in industrial manufacturing growth expected in 2013

Balance of worldwide capacity has shifted to Asia / Polyamide is a rare exception / European market holds up relatively well / Massive expansion in China likely to continue

Chemical and plastics producer in blue-chip stock index / Share nearly quadruples in eight years

Automotive industry demand for engineering plastics expected to grow at nearly 10% per year / PC and PA lead the list

US market to reach USD 1.7 bn in 2013 / Manufacturing turnaround to drive increased demand / PTFE will still account for largest share of market / Freedonia report

Demand for engineering plastics expected to grow by 10% per year / PC leads the way / Government efforts to strengthen local production / Creation of special engineering plastics hubs?

Market's centre moves east as crisis recedes / China now largest consumer of polyamide with 30% of global output / More than 80% of ABS output in Asia / PCI “Yellowbook” and PIE Polyglobe paint the picture

Third PA and PBT compounds line to come on stream in China today / Focus on automotive sector

Groundbreaking on Shanghai polymer centre

Capacity increase for ethylene copolymers in The Netherlands

Investment in Korean advanced materials fund / Focus on printed electronics and clean technologies

Purchase of minority stake in Polyera / Expansion of printed electronics development

New “Tritan” plant in US / Co-polyester rides on anti-BPA wave / France bans BPA in baby bottles