Home > Chemicals & Materials > Polybutadiene Elastomers Market
Polybutadiene elastomers market share is set to be propelled by perpetual applications including chemical, polymer modification, industrial rubber manufacturing, tires, and others. Robust growth in the global tire industry is expected to support the market growth over the forecast period of 2021-2027.
Furthermore, constantly expanding synthetic rubber industry worldwide would call in for huge investments in polybutadiene production, thus providing an impetus to the overall market growth through the coming years.
Polybutadiene boasts of high wear resistance and is therefore massively used in tire production, consuming nearly 70% of the production. Another 25% of the product is used as an additive to enhance the impact resistance of plastics including ABS and polystyrene.
However, the global polybutadiene elastomers market is projected to observe hinderance from the stringent government regulations regarding the implementation of rubber processing. In addition, volatility in raw material prices and alarming health concerns associated with the exposure of the product would further challenge the market growth in the coming years.
Based on the product, low cis polybutadiene elastomers market is projected to gain considerable returns over the foreseeable time frame. This can be credited to the product’s ability to be used in tire manufacturing despite its high liquid-glass transition. Moreover, low cis polybutadiene elastomers can also be used as an additive in plastics owing to their low content of gels. These contain nearly 40% contribution of the cis-1,4-repeating unit and can be synthesized using alkyl-Li-based catalysts.
The overall market from tire manufacturing segment would account for remunerative growth in the coming years. The growth is estimated to come from the increasing automobile sales worldwide due to the expanding urbanization, increasing disposable incomes, and elevating ownership of luxury vehicles. The product is primarily used in the sidewalls of truck tires, thus helping to improve fatigue to failure life due to constant flexing during run. Also, it is used in tread portion of giant truck tires to augment the abrasion resistance.
Geographically, Asia Pacific is set to emerge as a prominent hub for polybutadiene elastomers industry in the ensuing years. The growth would be credited to the expanding automotive industry in the region. According to IBEF, the Indian automotive industry is anticipated to surpass USD 251.4 to USD 282.8 billion by 2026 end. This is because of the rising economic affluence, increasing urban population, low labor costs, and huge consumer base. This increasing demand is eventually pushing the demand for increased tire production in the region. Moreover, several automakers are now shifting to the APAC region for controlled and positive growth in auto sales, thus positively influencing the APAC polybutadiene elastomers market over the analysis timeframe.
Reliance Industries, LyondelBasell Industries N.V., LG Chem Ltd. (LG Corp), Lanxess AG, JSR Corporation, UBE Industries, and Synthos (FTF Galleon S.A.), amongst others are major players operating in the global polybutadiene elastomers market.
These market vendors are adopting diverse organic and inorganic growth strategies like mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and product diversification to consolidate their position in the overall industry.
COVID-19 impact on polybutadiene elastomers market growth
The massive coronavirus outbreak in 2020 has severely disrupted various global businesses and industries over a short period of time. The automotive industry and tire production business was no exception to this. Halt in production, movement restrictions, reduced workforce, and stringent lockdown norms across various economies led to a significant decline in the sales of automotive, thus impeding the production of tire. This eventually resulted in a downfall in polybutadiene elastomers market growth throughout the year.