Chemical & Engineering News
June 23, 1997
Copyright © 1997 by the American Chemical Society
PLASTICS: Polyethylenes, polyproplene led thermoplastics growth, thermosets were mixed
| Production | % annual change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millions of lba | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1995-96 | 1986-96 |
| THERMOSETTING RESINS | |||||||||||||
| Epoxyb | 398 | 433 | 486 | 509 | 499 | 497 | 457 | 512 | 601 | 632 | 662 | 5% | 5% |
| Melamine | 173 | 212 | 207 | 222 | 202 | 196 | 232 | 270 | 300 | 290 | 288 | -1 | 5 |
| Phenolicc,d | 2,735 | 2,869 | 3,066 | 2,879 | 2,946 | 2,658 | 2,923 | 3,078 | 3,229 | 3,204 | 3,260 | 2 | 2 |
| Polyestere | 1,271 | 1,367 | 1,404 | 1,319 | 1,221 | 1,075 | 1,175 | 1,264 | 1,468 | 1,577 | 1,557 | -1 | 2 |
| Urea | 1,271 | 1,382 | 1,425 | 1,477 | 1,496 | 1,483 | 1,548 | 1,744 | 1,914 | 1,816 | 1,964 | 8 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 5,848 | 6,263 | 6,588 | 6,408 | 6,364 | 5,909 | 6,335 | 6,868 | 7,512 | 7,519 | 7,731 | 3% | 3% |
| THERMOPLASTIC RESINS | |||||||||||||
| Polyethylene | |||||||||||||
| Low densityf | 8,903g | 9,599g | 10,397g | 6,575 | 7,255 | 7,236 | 7,273 | 7,226 | 7,578 | 7,643 | 7,784 | 2% | -- |
| Linear low densityf | -- | -- | -- | 3,120 | 3,893 | 4,346 | 4,644 | 4,841 | 5,022 | 5,243 | 6,361 | 21 | -- |
| High densityh | 7,182 | 7,995 | 8,400 | 8,102 | 8,337 | 9,213 | 9,808 | 9,941 | 11,117 | 11,211 | 12,373 | 10 | 6% |
| Polypropylenei | 5,812 | 6,647 | 7,274 | 7,238 | 8,310 | 8,330 | 8,421 | 8,629 | 9,539 | 10,890 | 11,991 | 10 | 8 |
| Styrene polymers | |||||||||||||
| Polystyrene | 4,470 | 4,780 | 5,187 | 5,104 | 5,021 | 4,954 | 5,096 | 5,383 | 5,848 | 5,656 | 6,065 | 7 | 3 |
| Styrene-acrylonitrilej | 92 | 126 | 148 | 113 | 135 | 109 | 113 | 105 | 138 | 130 | 121 | -7 | 3 |
| Acrylonitrile-butadiene- styrene and other styrene polymersj,k | 2,196 | 2,254 | 2,418 | 2,394 | 2,351 | 2,287 | 2,610 | 2,924 | 3,230 | 2,908 | 2,969 | 2 | 3 |
| Polyamide, nylon type | 465 | 507 | 566 | 569 | 558 | 576 | 668 | 768 | 943 | 1,020 | 1,120 | 10 | 9 |
| Polyvinyl chloride & copolymersj | 7,256 | 7,971 | 8,350 | 8,478 | 9,096 | 9,164 | 9,989 | 10,257 | 11,712 | 12,295 | 13,220 | 8 | 6 |
| Thermoplastic polyesterj | 1,175 | 1,394 | 1,652 | 1,630 | 1,879 | 2,115 | 2,413 | 2,549 | 3,196 | 3,785 | 4,031 | 6 | 13 |
| TOTAL | 37,551 | 41,273 | 44,392 | 43,323 | 46,835 | 48,330 | 51,035 | 52,623 | 58,323 | 60,781 | 66,035 | 9% | 6% |
| GRAND TOTAL | 43,399 | 47,536 | 50,980 | 49,731 | 53,199 | 54,239 | 57,370 | 59,491 | 65,835 | 68,300 | 73,766 | 8% | 5% |
Note: Totals are for those products listed and exclude so me small-volume plastics. a Dry-weight basis unless otherwise specified. b Unmodified. c Includes other tar-acid resins. d Gross-wei ght basis. e Unsaturated. f Density 0.940 and below. g Low dens ity and linear low density. h Density above 0.940. i Data include Canada from 1995. j Data include Canada from 1994. kIncludes styrene-butadiene copolymers and other styrene-based polymers. Source: Society of the Plastics Industry
