LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Merchant Research & Consulting, Ltd. informs that cutting-edge topical research reports, covering different chemicals markets, have been recently uploaded at its website.
Markets Covered in New Reports Include:
Industrial Diamonds Market:
The development of artificial industrial diamonds is inseparably linked with the world of science, technical innovations, experimentation and technological advances. Starting from James Ballantyne Hannay, Henri Moissan and Percy Williams Bridgman, this link has become evident, meaning that each scientific breakthrough has lead to further commercialization of synthetic diamonds and appearance of their large-scale market, while each ungrounded claim and unsuccessful experimentation have been detrimental for the origination and proliferation of the market for synthetic diamonds. Taking into consideration the fact that only two percent of industrial diamonds are of natural origin (and this share is doomed to decrease), while origination and application of synthetic diamonds hinge of scientific achievements, it is possible to ascertain that science plays a decisive role in the market for synthetic diamonds. For instance, the use of synthetic diamonds in loudspeaker tweeters occurred after many years of ground-breaking research and trial-and-error experimentation of such firms as Bower & Wilkins. In pursuit of the perfect loudspeaker, Bower & Wilkins has put its best efforts to create the best possible driving unit with the help of industrial diamonds and a technology known as Chemical Vapour Deposition or CVD, which allows “growing” pure diamonds in complex shapes. Such technologies unravel new market niches for industrial diamonds. Further information on the industrial diamonds market is available in the insightful report “Industrial Diamonds: 2016 World Market Review and Forecast.”
Lime Market:
Many countries have sufficient and abundant resources of limestone, thus diminishing the economic viability of international trade with lime. Moreover, lime is considered a low-value commodity, which is not particularly appropriate for transportation. It is therefore a product more suitable for regional trade and domestic consumption. The product character and ensuing market peculiarities, i.e. above-mentioned low profitability margins, bulkiness in transportation, severe market fragmentation and availability of multiple suppliers, dictate the policy applicable for many lime manufacturers. In North America, Europe, and Asia, local producers, operating on the lime market, resort to consolidating their efforts and M&A activities in an effort to serve regional markets. Apart from consolidation and M&A, another viable strategy is trying to expand existing production capacities, which is more characteristic of Asian players. China continues to lead production and consumption of lime, accounting for about 66% of the global lime market. This trend will persevere. Asia is predicted to be the leading regional lime producer through 2019, with the highest growth rates registered in China. However, sometimes high growth rates observed in the production of various commodities in China are determined by reasons that lack economic or environmental substantiation. More details on the lime market can be found in the topical study “Lime: 2016 World Market Review and Forecast.”
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Market:
Recent geopolitical complications like the Brexit referendum in the UK or the unsuccessful military coup in Turkey may render a significant and long-lasting influence on the global PVC market and many regional PVC markets. The impact of the UK referendum has been already direct and indirect. Some European PVC producers have already raised prices for the PVC shipped to the UK in the wake of pound losing its value. There were some allegations that some UK producers might benefit from this situation, but the export-related advantage will not be particularly prominent. In case of PVC, Great Britain accounts for less than 1% of the global PVC production capacity. Apart from small production in Lancashire by Westlake, UK’s major and practically single PVC producer is INOVYN, now fully owned by INEOS, which has a PVC production capacity of around 400,000 tonnes per year. Despite potential export rise, this producer might be also affected by the fall of the domestic construction and housing market in the UK, which is a major PVC outlet. The same uncertainty, which is generally detrimental for the PVC market, is looming large in other places of the world. One can mention post-coup Turkey, Russia hit by sanctions and embroiled in dubious political affairs, China impacted by economic slowdown or the USA on the verge of possible political perturbations, as well as other countries. In all these regions, geopolitical instability, indirectly and directly, affects the PVC market by influencing general economic situation, PVC-consuming industries and specifically PVC market. Trustworthy data on the PVC market is provided in the topical report “Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): 2016 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2020.”
Sulfuric Acid Market:
Sulphuric acid is extremely important to the chemical and other industries, acting as one of the most fundamental chemical building blocks. Production of agricultural fertilizers, like phosphates and ammonium sulphate, is a main outlet for sulphuric acid. Overall, fertilisers account for nearly 60% of the worldwide production of sulphuric acid. This year seems generally good for major agricultural markets, which might positively affect fertilizer demand, but such forecast would be very optimistic. The market is full of ambiguity and uncertainty with one positive trend being offset by another negative. On the one hand, the demand for fertilizers is on the rise, but the margins of many companies are hit by fluctuating prices and oversupply. In many regions, multiple factors, like the currently available fertilizer stocks or the size of fertilizer subsidies, intervene and intermingle, and it is difficult to predict which one turn out to be decisive. This situation affects the market for sulphuric acid. It is expected that the sulphuric acid market will slow its growth rates in order to balance demand and supply across the globe, especially in the light of new capacity introductions planned in Jordan, USA, China, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and other countries. An in-depth analysis of the sulphuric acid market is offered in the in-demand report “Sulfuric Acid: 2016 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2020”.
Zirconium & Hafnium Market:
Zirconium and hafnium (the latter is retrieved as a by-product from zirconium ore minerals) find use in various industries, as well as in high-tech, specialized and innovative applications. Zirconium is employed in ceramics, foundry, refractory, electronics, nuclear industry, etc, while hafnium acts as a component of super alloys, plasma welding torches, electrical insulators in integrated circuits or catalysts in certain polymerization reactions. Hafnium is considered irreplaceable in many of these applications. However, despite this importance and fairly high demand, hafnium is used quite rarely, which may be explained by following two reasons: a) hafnium is only produced as a by-product of refining zirconium; b) it is extremely difficult to separate the metal from zirconium. In addition, the nuclear industry, which is their important consuming sector, lies in doldrums. The feedstock market for both is also heavily monopolized. More than 80% of the world zirconium reserves are located in two countries: Australia (65.4%) and South Africa (17.9%). Zirconium production is concentrated in the hands of a few companies, including Iluka, Tronox and Richards Bay Mining. Quantitative estimates of hafnium resources are not available. Two main hafnium producers are Cezus (the French nuclear group Areva) and Wah Chang (ATI). A comprehensive overview of the world zirconium and hafnium market is given in the insightful report “Zirconium and Hafnium: 2016 World Market Review and Forecast.”
Many other trustworthy insightful research studies exploring various chemical markets are available at Merchant Research & Consulting website.
