London — Flexible polyurethane foam production dominates PU production in South America with 54% of the total, according to IAL Consultants in its latest update of its report PU Chemicals and Products in South America 2016.
Total production of polyurethane products in South America is forecast to be 771 kT/year by 2020 up from 715.2 kT/year in 2015, according to IAL.
That growth follows a market contraction from 773 kT/year in 2013, IAL said. Brazil is by far the biggest polyurethane market followed at some distance by Argentina. In 2015 Brazil is estimated to have produced 483 kT/year and this is likely to grow to 509 kT/year by 2020. This is equivalent to a 1.1% annual growth rate, IAL said.
Growth in Argentina, IAL says, will be 2.1% between 2020 and 2015 taking production from around 84 kT/year to around 93 kT/year in that timeframe. Overall the rest of Latin America will see 2.7% growth from around 148 kT/year to around 169 kT/year from 2015 to 2020.
IAL also said its research shows there is only one isocyanate producer in South America, Petroquimica Rio Tercero. The Cordoba, Argentina-based firm started production in 1981, IAL said.
The eight-volume report contains both PU production and raw material consumption figures with 2015 as the base year with a market forecast provided to 2020, IAL said. The eight volumes include raw materials, flexible foam, rigid foam, coatings, adhesives and sealants, elastomers, binders and end-use markets.
