Chemical Industry and Market Analysis
The US is home to 170 big chemical companies. They have more than 2,800 sites outside of the US and 1,700 foreign subsidiaries or affiliates. In the US, $750 billion worth of chemicals are produced annually. The American economy directly employs over a million people and enjoys substantial trade surpluses. The chemical industry, the second-largest energy consumer in manufacturing, spends more than $5 billion annually on pollution management. Some of the largest industries in Europe include those involving chemicals, plastics, and rubber. Together, they generate almost 3.2 million jobs across more than 60,000 enterprises. All of the EU's industrial trade surplus since 2000 has come from the chemical industry alone, accounting for 2/3 of the total.
The chemical industry has grown significantly for more than 50 years. One of the sectors with the fastest development is the manufacture of synthetic organic polymers used as plastics, fibres, and elastomers. The three areas of the world where the chemical industry has historically and now been concentrated are Western Europe, North America, and Japan (the Triad). The United States and Japan are still the two biggest producers after the European Union.