Polyurethane industry development

Throughout the world, the polyurethane industry in western developed countries has entered a period of mature development and entered the stage of innovation research and development; the Asian market has grown rapidly, and many multinational chemical companies have shifted their business focus and R&D centers to Asia and even China; the polyurethane market in the Middle East Development is still in its infancy.

In general, due to the rapid development of the national economy in the past decade, China's polyurethane industry, from basic raw materials to products and machinery and equipment, has a considerable scale. In 2005, China's polyurethane production was about 3 million tons, with an output value of about 60 billion yuan, an increase of 146% and 200% respectively from 1.22 million tons and about 20 billion yuan in 2001. The average annual growth rate of production is as high as 25%, and the output value is growing at an average annual rate. The rate is above 30%. In 2005, China consumed 510,000 tons of MDI, 360,000 tons of TDI and 890,000 tons of polyether polyol. With the widespread use of polyurethanes, the demand for raw materials has also increased significantly.

At present, many Chinese and foreign companies have entered the polyurethane industry, such as Yantai Wanhua, Shanghai Huayi, Gaoqiao Petrochemical, Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical, Northern Chemical, Shanghai Lianjing Group, etc., and foreign polyurethane companies including Bayer and BASF. Well-known companies such as Huntsman, Dow Chemical, GE, Chemtura and Degussa also have certain markets. The temptation of the Chinese market has attracted customers and manufacturers from Malaysia, India, Japan and South Korea.

In the past decade, although the average annual growth rate of China's polyurethane is twice that of GDP, the consumption of per capita polyurethane in China has not yet reached the world average. In 2004, China's per capita MDI consumption was 0.35 kg, while the world average was 0.51 kg. According to the per capita GDP development and the growth rate of polyurethane, China's polyurethane industry is still in a period of rapid growth.

In the future, the development of China's polyurethane industry will be mainly driven by five major aspects, namely, the total population, the automobile industry, building energy conservation, environmental protection requirements, and the leisure and entertainment industry. During the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” period, China's PU product consumption will maintain an average annual growth rate of 15%. By then, China will be the world's largest PU product manufacturing and consumption center.