Global Demand for Thermoplastic Elastomers to Reach 5.8 Million Metric Tons in 2017

Global demand for thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) is forecast to rise 5.5% per year to 5.8 million metric tons in 2017, valued at more than US$20 billion. Advances will be driven by ongoing product innovation on the part of TPE manufacturers, allowing these materials to continue to displace traditional elastomers and thermoplastics in a variety of applications. TPE demand will benefit from the ongoing push to reduce motor vehicle weight. Healthy growth will also be fueled by an improved economic outlook in North America and Western Europe, while advances in emerging countries will benefit from increased adoption of TPEs in place of competing materials. These and other trends are presented in World Thermoplastic Elastomers, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.
   Styrenic block copolymers (SBCs) will remain the leading TPE product type through 2017. However, SBC demand will rise at a below average pace compared to TPEs overall, limited by a high degree of market saturation in many large volume applications. The fastest growth is expected for polyolefin elastomers (POEs), a relatively new TPE product class which is gaining rapid acceptance as a performance additive for plastics and packaging adhesives.  
   Motor vehicles account for the largest portion of the world TPE market, with one-third of total demand in 2012. Advances will be bolstered by improvements in the TPE-intensive North American and West European automotive industries through 2017, as well as increased TPE use in emerging markets, although demand will be limited by continued declines in Japanese vehicle production.  
   The Asia/Pacific region will remain the largest market for TPEs through 2017, rising at an above average pace to account for nearly half of world demand. China, the world’s largest consumer of TPEs in volume terms, will continue to see more than eight percent annual growth in demand. Regional gains will also benefit from robust expansion in India and Southeast Asia, whereas growth in the Japanese market will remain sluggish. Other regions that will enjoy above average advances in demand through 2017 include the Africa/Mideast region, which currently has the world’s lowest TPE consumption levels per capita. TPE demand growth in North America and Western Europe will see substantial improvement compared to the recession-plagued 2007-2012 performance.   

Word Thermoplastic Elastomer Demand (thousand metric tons)

Item                              2007    2012    2017    2007-2012     2012-2017
                                                        YoY Growth    YoY Growth
Thermoplastic Elastomer Demand    3760    4462    5830    3.5             5.5
North America                    1112    1198    1510    1.5             4.7
Western Europe                    869.5    839        1000    -0.7         3.6
Asia/Pacific                    1411.5    1970    2700    6.9             6.5
Other Regions                    367        455        620        4.4             6.4