Trends in Demand

In Section 2.2.5 the general trends in plastic pipe supply over a long period of growth from the late 1960s, were discussed. No attempt was made to analyse the nature of demand that was generating the market. In the light of the discussion of market sectors, how the applications sectors have determined the materials and products that were successful will now be considered with the intention of perceiving the future trends. 

In summary, each of the other application areas identified irrigation, hot water, sanitation, industrial piping and cable ducting, all seem to offer favourably expanding markets throughout Europe for many years ahead. 

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Similar dynamics play in other non-refinery petrochemicals that moved to fly-up conditions in 2004, such as monoethylene glycol (MEG) and styrene. Petrochemical producers had held back investments during the previous several years due to poor returns. The underlying upward trend in demand tightened the sup-ply-demand balance, and restored pricing power to producers hands, enabling them to harvest exceptional margins at this point in the cycle. 

The current discussions across the plastics sector show a steady upwards trend in demand for reduced flammability, minimum smoke generation and low toxicity, yet with optical, mechanical or electrical properties still being retained. This can be quite difficult to master in technical terms, since these demands are contradictory in some measure and also because the matrix polymers display greatly dissimilar behaviour in the event of a fire, with PVC and polyethylene being good examples. 

There are many other additives besides those listed here. The most important additives omitted from this report are colomants and fibre reinforcements. Both these are often classified under separate headings from additives, especially by the leading market analysts who report on trends in demand. 

T. J. Woods, The Eong-Term Trends in U.S. Gas Supply and Prices 1992 Edition of the GRJ Faseline Projection of U.S. Energy Supply and Demand to 2010,... 

Malt Production and Producers. World and U.S. beer and malt production are shown in Figure 6. Because approximately 95% of malt manufactured is used to make beer, malt production follows trends in beer production. World brewers malt and beer production in 1992 was approximately 13 million tons and 1.2 biUion hectoHters and was growing at 3% per year. U.S. brewers malt and beer production in 1992 was 2.2 million tons and 240 million hectoHters, but demand has been stagnant since 1982. Distillers and food malts account for approximately 5% of the U.S. and world malt production. 

Economic Aspects. When trimellitic anhydride was introduced in semicommercial quantities in 1962, it was priced at 1.19/kg. The price was reduced to 0.55/kg as it became available in commercial quantities in 1968. The mid-1994 price was quoted as 2.31/kg from Amoco, fob, the JoHet, Illinois plant. A price history is given in Table 32. Although trimellitic anhydride production and sales figures are not available, the pubUshed U.S. Tariff Commission s production data for trimeUitate esters provides data for the trimellitic anhydride demand trend in the United States, since the largest single use of trimellitic anhydride is for the trimeUitate esters (115). These data are given in Table 32. 

Because sulfuric acid has its greatest use in fertilizers, trends in that industry have a significant effect on the sulfuric acid business. Owing to a weak U.S. doUar in the early 1990s and high demand for fertilizer abroad, a considerable portion of U.S. phosphate fertilizer production was exported. High fertilizer exports are expected to continue until Thkd World countries can meet thek own demands. 

When chlorine dioxide is used for pulp bleaching in conjunction with the Kraft (sulfide) process for chemical pulping, by-product sodium sulfate can be used as a source of makeup sulfur and sodium consumed in the chemical cycle. The demand for sodium and sulfur in pulp bleaching is related to the loss of these chemicals through carryover in unbleached pulp. As process improvements have sought to reduce pollution from pulp mills, less sodium sulfate makeup is required. The trends in pulp bleaching to increase substitution of chlorine with chlorine dioxide have caused an oversupply of sodium sulfate, so that this by-product is often regarded as waste (81). 

Forecast Trends. Copper demand is forecast to grow at a 1.9% rate in the United States and at a 2.7% rate in the world between 1989 and 2000, as shown in Table 8. Whereas consumption in the United States, Europe, and Japan is expected to increase at a relatively lower rate, other countries are expected to surpass these rates as their economies develop. 

The LER data base served as the primary source of DG failure data, while a data base for DG successes was formed from nuclear plant licensees responses to a USNRC questionnaire (Generic Letter 84-15). Estimates of DG failure on demand were calculated from the LER data, DG test data, and response data from the questionnaire. The questionnaire also provided data on DG performance during complete and partial LOSP and in response to safety injection actuation signals. Trends in DG performance are profiled. The effects of testing schedules on diesel reliability are assessed. Individual failures are identified in an appendix. 

Since the mid-1970s, the rate of growth of per capita gasoline consumption has slowed. An important factor in causing this moderation in demand was the trend to improve automobile fuel economy that was initiated by worldwide fuel shortages. Fuel economy hovered around 14.1 mpg between 1955 and 1975 it rose sharply over the next 15 years, reaching around 28.2 mpg in 1990. 

The trends dcinoiistratc the capability of industiy to improve energy efficiency when it has the incentive to do so. Energy requirements can be cut by new process development. In addition, the amount of raw materials demanded by a society tends to decline as countries reach certain stages of industrial development, which leads to a decrease in industrial energy use. The accounting of trends in structural shift, material intensity, and technical energy efficiency... 

A Maack Scheidl Partnership CH-8804 Au/near Zurich, Switzerland Tel +41-1-781 3040 Fax +41-1-781 1569 http //www.MBSpolymer.com Plastics technology and marketing business service, which organizes global conferences, and edits a range of reports and studies, which focus on important worldwide aspects of polymer research, development, production, and end uses. Provides updates on plastic costs, pricing, forecast, supply/demand, and analysis. Identified early in the cycle are trends in production, products and market segments. 

The Arrhenius frequency factors [log(T/M V)] for addition of carbon centered radicals to the unsubstiUited terminus of monosubslituted or 1,1-disubstituted olefins cover a limited range (6.0-9.0), depend primarily on the steric demand of the attacking radical and are generally unaffected by remote alkene substituents. Typical values of log(T/M" V) are ca 6.5 for tertiary polymeric (e.g. PMMA ), ca 7.0 for secondary polymeric (PS, PMA, and ca 7.5, 8.0 and 8.5 for small tertiary (e.g. /-C4H9 ), secondary (i-CiH ) and primary (CHj, CbHs ) radicals respectively (Section 4.5.4).4 For 1,2,2-trisubstituted alkenes the frequency factors arc about an order of magnitude lower.4 The trend in values is consistent with expectation based on Iheoretical calculations. 

There is a general trend toward structured packings and monoliths, particularly in demanding applications such as automotive catalytic converters. In principle, the steady-state performance of such reactors can be modeled using Equations (9.1) and (9.3). However, the parameter estimates in Figures 9.1 and 9.2 and Equations (9.6)-(9.7) were developed for random packings, and even the boundary condition of Equation (9.4) may be inappropriate for monoliths or structured packings. Also, at least for automotive catalytic converters. 

In the case of chiral molecules that are biologically active the desired activity almost always resides in only one of the enantiomers. The other enantiomer constitutes isomeric ballast that does not contribute towards the desired activity and may even exhibit unwanted side effects. Hence, there is a marked trend in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and flavours and fragrances towards the marketing of products as enantiomerically pure compounds. This, in turn, has generated a demand for economical methods for the synthesis of pure enantiomers (Sheldon, 1993a). 

Sylvander, B. Leusie, M. (2000) Consumer trends in organic farming in France and Europe vulnerability of demand and consumer loyalty. Towards a learning-based marketing. Proceedings of the 13 th International IFOAM Scientific Conference, Basel, Switzerland, pp 546-9. 

Two major trends in the industrialised world are the demand for convenience food and awareness of the need for healthy eating patterns. The trend is away from generic foods towards processed products, for example, as we have seen, there is a growing demand for organic frozen desserts and items such as frozen pizzas. Many supermarkets see a potential for surplus products in freezing and canning surplus produce (FAO, 2002). The popularity of functional or healthy foods is also a potentially lucrative area for organic produce, especially dairy products. 

There has been an increasing global trend in the wire and cable industry to restrict and remove the presence of lead in materials used for insulation and jacketing applications. The various standards that apply to lead in electrical applications are discussed. One of the issues is how to define the low levels of lead. Many minerals contain trace levels of lead as a chemical impurity. These minerals are used in rubber and plastics and thus the final composition is likely to contain trace amounts of lead. With modem analytical techniques, lead can be found at levels lower than five parts per million. Therefore, to satisfy increasing demands on wire and cable materials, a new series of thermoplastic vulcanisates (TPV) has been introduced that contains no added lead chemicals. These TPV materials have recently been granted a UL listing for flexible cord applications. The properties of these materials are presented and highlighted. 6 refs. 

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