Polyurethane is the general name for polymers including multiple carbamate groups (-NHCOO-) on main chain of a polymer structure; and its products comprise rigid & flexible PU foams, elastomer, coating, adhesive and fiber, etc.
In 2011, global polyurethane product output approximated 17.65 million tons; rigid & flexible PU foams made larger contribution, around 60% of total output. With the rapidly increasing demand for polyurethane in the Asia-Pacific Region, global polyurethane production center has been moved to Asia-Pacific region, especially China. China’s polyurethane product output accounted for around 33.7% of the global total in 2011.
China’s PU product demand saw a CAGR of 11.8% from 2006 to 2011. In particular, the demand reached 6.8 million tons in 2011, with the self-sufficiency rate 87.5%. Among China’s PU products, rigid & flexible PU foams, synthetic leather pulp and coating showed higher demand; and their accumulative demands occupied about 80% of total PU product demand in China in 2011.
Upstream raw materials for polyurethane involve three categories including isocyanate (MDI,TDI, etc.), polylol (PPG, PTMEG, BDO, AA, etc.) and auxiliary (mainly DMF).
1 MDI
In 2011, global MDI capacity approximated 6 million tons, and merely around 10 enterprises were engaged in MDI production, with a very high concentration degree in the industry. In terms of production capacity, Bayer, BASF and Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co., Ltd. ranked the top three, followed by Huntsman, DOW and NPU etc. In the same year, China became the largest MDI producer in the world, with capacity sharing 23.9% of the world’s total.
2 TDI
Worldwide TDI capacity reached 2.5 million tons or so in 2011. Bayer, BASF, MITSUI, Hebei Cangzhou Dahua Co., Ltd. and Perstorp are leading companies; and their aggregate capacities enjoyed roughly 70% of the global total TDI capacity in the same year. Worldwide TDI capacity is mainly distributed in China, South Korea and the United States.
3 PPG
Global PPG industry also characterizes a high concentration degree; and leading players comprise Bayer, DOW, Shell, BASF and Huntsman, etc. There are many PPG producers in China, but most with limited capacity, including Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Shandong Bluestar Dongda Chemical Industry Company and Nanjing Hongbaoli Co., Ltd. etc.
This report resolves around the followings:
