Plastic additives market to reach $57.8Bn by 2020

The global plastic additives market in terms of volume was estimated at 12.6 million tonnes in 2013 and is expected to reach 17.1 million tonnes by 2020 growing by 4.4% during 2013-2020, according to a recent report by Allied Market Research.

Decreasing mineral ore sources have increased the cost of metal equipment, which has triggered the application of plastics to replace the metal equipment. The low cost of plastic equipment and properties that match metal equipment is also pushing the higher adoption of plastics in a number of applications. Thus, the demand for additive which enhances the properties of plastics is also on rise. The companies involved in manufacturing of additives are majorly concentrating on specialty chemicals that are used in construction and automobile equipment.

The global plastic additives market growth is dampened by strict government regulations as some plastics additives such as Chlorinated flame retardant are banned in countries, namely Canada, U.S. and the European Union. The pending legal suits are also hindering the growth of plastic additive market. Companies are facing problems with lawsuits such as patent imitation suit, commercial application of banned product etc.

The plastic additives manufactures have high focus on developing economies due to economical advantages. Asia-Pacific is the largest revenue generating region among other geographies due to the availability of low cost raw material and economical work force. However, the availability of economical work force in under developed economies such as in Africa is also attracting the global players.

The Asia-Pacific and Rest of the world region shared 42.1% revenue in 2013 which is expected to soar to 60% by 2020. The increase in consumption of plastic products and raising awareness for the preservation of depleting resources is facilitating the growth of plastic additive market in these regions.

Plastic additives market is expected to grow in developing economies such as India, China, and Japan. The developing economies are more lucrative for the global players operating in this market due to availability of low cost labors and raw materials.