Elastomers: world demand on the rise

According to a recent study published by Freedonia, in the period 2012-2017 the world demand for thermoplastic elastomers should increase by 5% a year, reaching almost 6 million tons and a value of over 20 billion US dollars.
The North American market is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.7% a year, while demand in Europe, down by 0.7% as a result of the economic crisis, should report an upswing at an average rate of 3.9% a year. Larger increments are expected in the Far East (6.5%), with a particularly strong demand in China (+8%) while India should not suffer further setbacks. The forecast for the Japanese market is instead less dynamic.
The application area that should account for most of the demand for elastomers is the automotive industry, representing one third of world consumption in 2012. In terms of materials, styrenic block copolymers (SBCs) are the most popular, but polyolefin elastomers (POEs) are showing the fastest growth rates.