The global formaldehyde market will be in short supply in five years

IHS Chemical's "2014 Global Formaldehyde and Resin Analysis Report" said that the current global formaldehyde equipment operating rate is still at a low level, but the rapid growth of the downstream resin market is digesting excess capacity. It is estimated that in five years, the world will need new formaldehyde production capacity to meet the market demand. According to the report, the global formaldehyde production and consumption center of gravity is shifting to Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, of which the Chinese market performance is the strongest, and China will account for more than 50% of the global formaldehyde market share by 2023. In the next 10 years, the average annual growth rate of China's formaldehyde demand will exceed 6%, the global average growth rate will be 4%-5%, and the average annual growth rate of mature markets such as North America and Western Europe will be only 2%-3%. In terms of production capacity, IHS expects that by 2023, the world will add 20 million tons/year of formaldehyde production capacity, and the capacity utilization level will increase to about 75%. The capacity utilization rate of the formaldehyde downstream industry will also rise from less than 60% in 2009 to more than 70% in 2023. However, phenolic resins are an exception, and their capacity utilization rate will remain below 60% until 2023, mainly due to serious overcapacity.