2019 年12 月份中信基础化工行业指数上涨10.24%，在29 个中信一级行业中排名第7 位。子行业中，民爆用品、聚氨酯和氨纶板块表现居前。主要产品中，12 月份化工品上涨品种数量有所上升，下跌品种数量略有下降。上涨品种中，棕榈仁油、丙烷、脂肪醇、液化气、棕榈油涨幅居前。1 月份的投资策略建议继续关注优质一体化行业龙头企业以及维生素、CPE 板块。

United states is one of the major consumers of biostimulant in North America . Biostimulan ts are relatively less popular. However the United States with its highly evolved agricultural sector has been adapting to the natural and organic way of farming. Hence, the region is witnessing induced consumption of biostimulants.  Over the years, change in various factors such as total area under cultivation, price of the product, and crops cultivated have been influencing the market pattern of biostimulants in the country. The use of biostimulants for fruits, vegetables, cereals, and pulses is growing strongly owing to changing consumption patterns of fruits and vegetables without the risk of pesticide residues and with increased nutritional value.

The United States nematicides market is majorly dominated by fumigant type nematicides, cornering 44.2% share in the overall nematicide market in 2018. For instance, California, one of the largest markets for nematicides, has been widely applying soil fumigants such as sodium tetrathio to treat nematodes present in vineyards across the state. Fruits and Vegetables were estimated to have the major chunk of share by way of application in the United States nematicide market. The increasing yield losses in tomatoes has led to the extensive use of root-knot nematodes and sting nematodes to mitigate the blighting of crops by nematode attacks. Furthermore, soil fumigation is a well-applied method on US farm fields, while the usage of non-fumigant nematicides is limited across the country. Increasing use of nematicides on vegetables, growing need for higher agricultural productivity and growing, and the advent of bio-nematicides is expected to stipulate the market growth. However, restriction on the usage of chemical/synthetic products, and increasing research and development costs are the likely factors restraining the growth of the market.

11 月，石化行业生产继续增长，炼油利润小幅回升，成品油消费景气度下降。具体来看，国际布伦特油价环比上涨 5.5%，原油生产环比增加 0.9%，继续保持稳步增长，原油进口继续保持 10%以上增速；下游化工品价格创年内新低；投资方面，石油加工、炼焦及核燃料加工业固定资产投资额累计同比增长 14.5%；供应方面，炼油利润回调，加工原油 5784 万吨，环比下降 3%；汽油、柴油产量环比下降，煤油环比上升，乙烯环比增加 22%；进出口方面，汽油出口创历史新高；需求方面，汽车行业低迷等因素导致汽油消费量呈持续下滑态势，工业疲软，继续压低柴油消费。价格方面，11月份成品油价格上调 2 次，汽柴油累计上涨 175 元/吨和 170 元/吨。

11 月份，化工行业运行整体依旧缓慢，工业增加值增速稍有回升；1～11 月，化学原料和化学制品制造业工业增加值同比增长 4.4%；出厂价格指数总体延续上年末下滑趋势，11 月化学原料和化学制品制造业出厂价格指数为 93.6 点；行业投资增速继续回落，1～11 月化学原料和化学制品制造业固定资产投资同比增长4.6%；化工行业营收增速止增转降后降幅继续扩大，利润终结增长开启下滑走势，1～11 月行业利润同比大幅减少 23.3%，较 1～10 月收窄 2.0 个百分点。

Automotive lightweight materials have been witnessing robust growth during the past couple of years, due to the increasing demand for luxurious, low-on-emission, safe, and high-performance vehicles. As a result, suppliers and manufacturers have introduced various solutions that not only help OEMs meet continually tightening regulations, but also satisfy the widening range of consumer personal taste. TPVs have superior strength, high-temperature mechanical properties, hot oil and solvent resistance, and better compression set than partially-cured material. These materials are blends of elastomers, typically rubbers, including EPDM, EPR, SBS, polybutadiene (BR), or butyl rubber (IIR), dispersed in a relatively small amount of thermoplastic matrix, typically polyethylene or polypropylene. Thermoplastic vulcanizates contain 60-70% EPDM and 30-40% impact polypropylene. Typical TPV applications in the automotive industry include hose coverings, gaskets, seals, convoluted boots, vibration dampeners, air inlet duct covers, bushings, strut covers, ignition components, and window seals. Cost is the biggest advantage, with TPVs being 10-30% lower than EPDM, coupled with lower weight, improved design flexibility, and recyclability. Furthermore, the light weight of TPV enables more fuel-efficient vehicles. Every 10% reduction in vehicle weight is estimated to result in a 5-7% reduction in fuel usage.

One of the major applications of high-purity alumina (HPA) is in the production of synthetic sapphire, which is used as a substrate in LED preparation. Production of synthetic sapphire starts with a seed sapphire crystal, a mixture of high purity alumina and un-crystallized sapphire material (crackle), which are heated in a crucible. Currently, sapphire is the most preferred substrate in the LED manufacturing, as it much cheaper than other substrates, such as Silicon Carbide, and Gallium Nitride. Currently, more than 50% of the global HPA production is used in LED manufacturing. However, the increasing demand for LED lighting is expected to further drive the market studied, during the forecast period. LED bulbs offer around 85% more electricity saving in comparison to conventional bulb. It also has an average life span of around 50,000 operating hours, which is 2- 4 times as long as most fluorescent, metal halide, and even sodium vapor lights, and 40 times as long as an average incandescent bulb.

Based on distribution channel, the high efficiency laundry liquid detergent market is fragmented into online sales channels, supermarket and hypermarket, departmental & convenience stores, and independent grocery stores. The online sales channels refers to sales through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, and Groupon. Hypermarket and supermarket shops include Walmart, ASDA, Tesco, Big Bazar, and others. Independent grocery stores comprise small brick and mortar shops.

The number of pests in different crops across the world is rising, and there is a tremendous increase in the number of insecticide-resistant pests. Insecticides can be used to control a variety of pests, however, overtime, they loose their effectiveness, as pests develop resistance, a significant decrease in sensitivity to a pesticide, which reduces the field performance of the pesticides. Reliance on insecticide-based pest management of insect pests often leads to the development of insecticide resistance. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on slowing and combating pests’ resistance to pesticides. These pests have caused enormous loss with regard to many economically important crops and have forced farmers to rely more on the usage of chemicals. Farmers are applying higher quantity of the same insecticides to kill crop pests, which has lead to pesticide resistance in the field. With each application, a few pests survive, who pass on their genes to their offspring. Eventually, the pesticide stops killing pests, leading to crop damage, which leads to demand of more investment in the R&D and new formulations of insecticides in the market. According to an International Survey of 2017, by Issac and McManus, currently, there are 500 cases of pesticide resistance and 200 cases of insecticide resistance, worldwide.