Polyisobutylene (PIB) range of synthetic polymer substances is an important group of elastomers which are often modified and plasticized to acquire desired levels of viscosity, adhesion or cost effectiveness. PIB can boast multiple applications due to their thermal stability, gas/water impermeability and other useful properties.
The PIB market may be loosely characterized by almost equal division between three regions, specifically North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, with respect to actual output, production capacity and consumption (Fig. 1).
Fig.1. PIB market by region (2013): production capacity, production output, consumption.
This roughly equal tri-continental fragmentation (also reflected in Fig. 1) will continue to prevail though changes in production, consumption and capacity shares are highly possible since market shares will depend on general macroeconomic conditions in these regions and other multiple external and internal factors. For example, in 2012, INEOS Oligomers, a division of INEOS USA and a major PIB manufacturer under the INDOPOL brand, discontinued PIB production at its US site due to ‘a severe decline in the site’s viability’ and ‘significant variable cost increases combined with declining capacity utilisation’ while continued PIB production at its French site. The fluctuations may also occur if the PIB market encounters with various environmental concerns like the recent accusations that PIB transportation to Europe resulted in several severe cases of bird casualties. In general, PIB consumption in North America may show a more ragged and uneven trajectory as compared to Asia Pacific.
Tri-regional segmentation in the PIB market is clearly evident within the corporate sector as the market is dominated by the following major PIB producers from the three regions, including INEOS Oligomers (the U.S.), Lubrizol Corporation (the U.S.), Infineum International Ltd. (the UK), BASF (Germany), Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd (South Korea) and BASF-YPC Company Limited (a JV between BASF and SINOPEC, Germany + China).
More information on the world polyisobutylene (PIB) market can be found in the in-demand research study “Polyisobutylene: 2015 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2019”.