The European construction sector is recovering, and is expected to grow steadily over the next five years, owing to the increased public expenditure on infrastructure. The recovery may significantly support the growth of the polycarbonate sheet market, during the forecast period. Factors driving the growth in construction demand include robust economic growth, along with increasing household income and corporate profits. Large infrastructure projects in countries, such as Russia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France, are driving the demand for the market studied in the region.

Mining chemicals play a major role in the processing of mineral ores. The consumption of base metals (like iron, steel, aluminum, etc.) and precious metals (such as silver, gold, and platinum) has increased steadily, owing to their various applications in many industries. These metal mining processes require mining chemicals at the stage of processing the respective ores. Tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) are used as collector chemicals in mining processes. It is used as a frothing agent in the flotation process for reclaiming low-grade copper-, lead-, and zinc-bearing ores. OLEOflot, a major brand of IOP (Industrial Oleochemical Products), is a blend of tall oil fatty acids. It is most commonly used as mining chemicals.

The Latin American countries have been attracting foreign glass bottle makers and other companies, owing to the factors like rich natural resources, low-cost labor, and increasing consumer expenditure. Although the economic growth rate of some of the regions, like Argentina, have not been very encouraging, the regions such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico witnessed positive growth rates. The improving economy made the regions the major consumers of packed food and beverage, personal care goods, and even electronics. The demand mostly came from the urban population, which constitutes 81% of the total population of Latin America and the Caribbean. Consider the case of Brazil for instance, Brazil’s middle-class prosperity is second only to China, with more than 15 to 17 million households forecasted to break through the middle-class income limit by 2021.

The electronics industry is by far the largest end-user segment, which accounted for more than 50% of the consumption of polyimide films in 2018. This is majorly due to its wide application base in the industry, including usage in housing cell phones, computers, electrical chargers, fax machines, pagers, connectors, battery boxes, etc.  Moreover, polyimide films offer properties that make them highly suitable for the electronics sector. These properties include light weight and impact- and shatter- resistant qualities, temperature resistance, high service temperature, ductility, and toughness in thin sections.

受下游需求续低迷，部分子行业扩产冲击影响，19 年主流化工品价格大幅下跌，行业景气度持续低迷。前三季度化工行业实现营业收入 37585.18 亿元，同比小幅+6.73%。净利润 1356.09 亿元，同比-19.00%。前三季度化工行业平均毛利率/净利率分别为 16.89%/3.61%，同比分别 -2.30pct/-1.15pct，盈利能力下滑明显。