This report helps to identify factors, which will be the driving force behind the plastic additives market and sub-markets in the next five years. The report provides extensive analysis of the plastic additives industry, current market trends, industry drivers and challenges, for a better understanding of the plastic additives market structure. The report has segregated the plastic additives industry in terms of its function, product types and geography.

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for plastic additives in USD million by the following functions: property modifiers, property extenders, property stabilizers, and processing aids. The report also provides Porter’s five force analysis, Impact analysis of drivers, Impact analysis of restraints and market potential of the plastic additives market. The report provides separate comprehensive analysis for the North America., Europe and Asia Pacific plastic additives market. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2012 through 2016. The report profiles six companies including BASF, Chemtura, Exxon Mobile, and BayerAG.

• Market forces that are driving and restraining the growth of the industry
• Opportunities for the application segments and geographies covered
• Up-to-date analysis of the latest trends in the industry 
• Acumen into the size and shape of the market growth
• Detailed outlook of the market and its future
• Comprehensive analysis of major competitors and their strategies
• Impact analysis for factors driving and restraining the market during the forecast period

• Forward-looking perspective on a category, market or issue affecting the industry growth
• Five year forecast assesses how the market is predicted to grow and segmental behavior
• Understand the competitive environment, the leading players and segments in the market
• Clear understanding about the key product segments and identification of the most robust product segment will help in ensuring strong returns
• Pin-point analysis of changing dynamics of competition keeps you ahead of the competitors
• Make more informed business decisions from insightful and in-depth analysis of the technical and commercial strength of plastic additives and its performance 
• Observe the chronological sales performance of plastic additives  in major regional markets 
• Obtain sales forecast for currently marketed plastic additives products for 2012-2016 for all major markets 

• Property Modifiers
• Property Extenders
• Property Stabilizers
• Processing Aids

• Plasticizers
• Flame Retardants
• Impact Modifiers
• Antioxidants
• Antimicrobials
• UV Stabilizers

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific

Plastic additive is a diversified industry with various types of additives such as property modifiers, property extenders, property stabilizers and processing aids and is set to demonstrate a high growth rate over the next few years. Major end use markets served by the industry include commercial construction, automotive, consumer appliances industry and general manufacturing industries. The plastic additive industry being energy and capital intensive, oil and gas are considered as major raw material suppliers for the industry. 

The global plastic additives industry continues to grow and discover new growth opportunities mainly due to increase in end use markets such as commercial construction, automotive, consumer appliances industry and general manufacturing industries. Initial high implementation cost remains the major concern; however the high ROI (return on investment) is expected to overcome this concern and drive the growth of the plastic additive market. The other factors driving the market include rise in plastic consumption, recovering economy, and compliance with environment. 

Among all the geographical regions, Asia Pacific is leading globally both in terms of production and consumption of plastic additives due to increase in end use market such as automobile industry and construction industry. Moreover, the automobile industry in China and India is expected to grow at over 8% and 14% respectively. The demand from mature markets such as U.S. and Europe is also expected to increase due to recovery from a sluggish economy. 

The opportunities in plastic additives industry are huge as many market players are continuously investing and focusing on new product development. BASF remains the biggest manufacturer of plastic additives; other manufacturers include Chemtura Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation Bayer AG, Chemtura, Kaneka and many more.

The overall chemical industry production grew by about 2.0% in 2011 in spite of reduced demand of plastic in end used segment in the last two quarters. Also, the industry is forecasted to grow by 1.5% in 2012 and 2.0% in 2013. Such a growth is a positive sign for a mature industry. This growth is mainly due to growth in the emerging market economies and recovery of major end-use markets. 

As the U.S. is one of the major markets for the chemical industry, fall in the U.S. natural gas prices as compared to global crude oil prices turns out to be a positive sign for the U.S. chemical industry. This decrease in price of natural gas has improved the cost competitiveness of the U.S. chemical industry, thus driving further the growth of the global chemical industry. End user application market (31%) leads in consumption of chemicals globally followed by service sectors (16.6%). Countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, India, Russia, Korea, and Brazil are expected to be the future destinations for chemical manufacturers to invest during 2012-2020.

Plastic additive is a diversified industry with a diverse range of additives such as property modifiers, property extenders, property stabilizers and processing aids and is set to demonstrate a high growth rate over the next few years. The economic crisis has slowed down the growth rate of the plastic additive industry in the recent past, but it has still survived to continue growing and it is expected to develop at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2011 to 2016.

The plastic additives industry gets easily affected by regulations and environmental policies and hence plastic additives manufacturers are always under pressure to manufacture chemicals that are eco friendly and safer than the existing products. Bans and regulatory impositions have been introduced in recent years on the usage of a wide range of plastic additives such as phthalates as a plasticizer and a few halogenated flame retardants. 

The European Union (EU) is one of the most active regulatory bodies imposing strict curbs on plasticizers, flame retardants and other additives due to their adverse effect on human health. These are controlled through legislation such as Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive and the European chemical registration legislation - REACH.

In China “the Management Methods for Controlling Pollution from Electronic Information Products”, regulates the China chemicals market. China has its own version of RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), which restricts the use of certain chemicals in the market. Such stringent environmental regulations are set to get more stringent in the coming years, affecting both existing and new products for the company.

The global plastic additives industry is expected to grow incrementally due to rise in plastic consumption, growth in automotive, consumer appliances and construction industry, and compliance with environmental regulations. However, rising health hazards due to the use of plastic additives and increase in the potential market for biodegradable plastic additives will restrain the growth of this market.

The global plastic additive industry is a mature industry in terms of value and volume. It is also one of the most diverse industries in terms of products offered. Plastic additives are classified into four broad categories namely property modifiers, property extenders, property stabilizers and processing aids. Property modifiers include flame retardants, antioxidants, antimicrobials, biodegradable plasticizers, blowing agents, and impact modifiers. Among all property modifiers, plasticizers are the fastest growing segment followed by flame retardants. These additives when added to plastics, enhances their property in a certain favorable direction. Plastic additives are added to plastic in combination with processing aids, property extenders, and are rarely used alone. Property modifiers are forecast to be the largest segment both in terms of revenue and consumption in 2016.

Plasticizer is expected to be the largest product market globally, accounting for a 51.8% share of plastic additives demand by volume in 2016. This market is expected to grow with CAGR of 3.2% during 2011-2016. 

North America and Europe are mature markets for plastic additives. With trade liberalization and the rapid growth in the emerging economies, China and India have become attractive market destinations for many investors. Growth opportunities in Asia Pacific are huge due to availability of skilled and cheap labor.