Global synthetic resin consumption grows steadily in 2023

Release time:

2023/12/04

In 2023, global synthetic resin production capacity is expected to reach 0.36 billion tons per year, an increase of 5.5 per cent over the same period last year; production will reach 0.28 billion tons, an increase of 2.8 per cent over the same period last year; and consumption will reach 0.27 billion tons, an increase of 1.8 per cent over the same period last year, an increase of 3.1 percentage points higher than in 2022.

Global synthetic resin consumption grows steadily in 2023

The global economy is gradually recovering after the new crown epidemic. Global GDP is expected to bottom out and stabilize in 2023, with a growth rate of 3%. The IMF forecasts GDP growth of 1.8 per cent in the United States, 0.9 per cent in Europe, 1.4 per cent in Japan, 4.6 per cent in ASEAN and 5.3 per cent in China in 2023, with positive GDP growth in all major economies. With the sharp rebound of many tertiary industries such as catering and tourism, the global service industry PMI (purchasing manager index) has increased significantly, resulting in a substantial increase in the consumption of related resins.

The main consumer of synthetic resin in the world is still Northeast Asia. North America ranked second, but the proportion of consumption dropped from 15% in 2015 to 12% in 2023. Western Europe ranked third, with the proportion of consumption falling from 12% to 9%. Southeast Asia and South Asia followed closely behind, accounting for 8% of consumption. The United States is gradually entering the digital and information society, capital is turning to artificial intelligence, capital flowing to the plastic manufacturing industry is gradually decreasing, and the apparent consumption of local resin is gradually declining, which will be converted to importing plastic products from other countries. Europe's low-carbon transition and geopolitical conflicts have led to higher energy prices and a gradual reduction in local chemical production capacity, resulting in a decline in apparent consumption. The consumption capacity of emerging economies in South Asia, represented by India, has grown steadily. With the transfer of Chinese industry to Southeast Asia, the demand for resin in Southeast Asia is gradually increasing.

Global synthetic resin capacity growth in 2023 continues to be dominated by Northeast Asia. The proportion of production capacity expanded from 39% in 2015 to 45% in 2023. In addition to the naphtha route, PDH (propane dehydrogenation), CTO (coal to olefins), MTO (methanol to olefins) and other routes have been launched on a large scale, making Northeast Asia a veritable expansion center. North America has benefited from the shale gas revolution with a large number of cheap olefin resources, and the production of polyolefins is the better choice for the United States, which has 16% of the world's production capacity, ranking second in the world. In Europe, the share of capacity fell from 13% in 2015 to 9% in 2023 due to rising energy costs.

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