Amines Demand in the US to Reach 2.9 Billion Pounds in 2012

US demand for amines (excluding those used to produce other amines) is forecast to advance 3.0 percent annually to 2.9 billion pounds in 2012, valued at $3.5 billion.  Gains will decelerate from the pace of the 2002-2007 period, when demand benefited from favorable production growth in the large cleaning products and agricultural chemicals markets.  The personal care products market, as well as other smaller markets -- particularly pharmaceuticals and monoethanolamine for wood preservation chemicals -- will see above-average gains, as new applications continue to post rapid growth. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentations, are presented in US Amines, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Accounting for 30 percent of volume demand and projected to grow at an annual pace of 3.6 percent through 2012, ethanolamines represent both the largest and fastest-growing product segment in the US amines market.  Diethanolamine will remain the most commercially significant of the ethanolamines, providing strong support as it continues to benefit from use in popular glyphosate herbicides.  Demand for monoethanolamine -- which rapidly gained popularity in the wood treatment market as chromated copper arsenate was phased out in favor of alkaline copper quaternary and copper azole -- will expand at a healthy rate through 2012 despite decelerating significantly from the 1997-2007 pace. 

Specialty amines demand will be boosted by an improving outlook for plastics processing, as well as the replacement of other amines in such applications as natural gas treatment.  Fatty amines are most commonly used in personal care products and will continue to benefit from their benign environmental profile and gentleness on the skin.  Alkylamines will advance at a below-average pace, restrained by market maturity combined with sluggish gains for the major final products that employ these amines. 

Among the various markets in which amines are used, cleaning products and agricultural chemicals are the largest and will account for the leading share of gains through 2012.  However, more rapid growth will be achieved in the personal care products market, driven by higher amine loadings and by the popularity of high-end cosmetics and soaps that employ fatty and specialty amines.  Overall advances will be limited by sluggishness in the petroleum market and outright declines in the textiles and fibers market resulting from declining acrylic fiber production.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.