WASHINGTON (March 5, 2021; ACC release) — Global chemicals production rose 1.4% in January, a slightly slower pace than December and continuing the global recovery that began in June, according to data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). During January, chemical production grew across all regions. Headline global production was up 9.5% year-over-year (Y/Y) on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. Global output stood at 129.0% of its average 2012 levels. Output was down a year ago due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During January, global capacity rose 0.1% and was up 2.0% Y/Y. With improving production, capacity utilization in the global chemical industry rose 1.1 points, to 87.5%. This is well above last January and above the long-term (1987-2019) average of 86.3%. Among chemical industry segments, January results were positive, with gains across all segments. Considering year-earlier comparisons, production gains occurred in all segments.
ACC’s Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) measures the production volume of the chemical industry for 33 key nations, sub-regions, and regions, all aggregated to the world total. The index is comparable to the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) production indices and features a similar base year where 2012=100. This index is developed from government industrial production indices for chemicals from more than 65 nations accounting for about 98 percent of the total global chemical industry. This data set is the only timely source of market trends for the global chemical industry and is comparable to the U.S. CPRI data, a timely source of U.S. regional chemical production.
