Quarterly Update on Global Toluene Market
For the Quarter Ending September 2020
Asia
Asian Toluene Market witnessed dented consumption against the backdrop of dull buying momentum amidst lackluster downstream demand as the market in various countries failed to regain the lost momentum after the outbreak of Coronavirus. High inventories of Toluene in China pressured local traders to channelize their material to the export market, thereby directing the supply to Southeast Asia. The situation eased with spate of maintenance turnarounds and resumption delays in several Northeast Asian plants in early September as producers undertook a wait and see approach amid fears of further loss in revenues due to volatile crude prices and market uncertainties. Prices of Toluene averaged around USD 637 per MT in the Southeast Asian market in the period between July to September.
North America
Discussions in US Toluene market remained mixed amid global oversupply concerns from eastern countries in contrast to the forced turnarounds in several Toluene plant in US Gulf Coast due to the series of seasonal hurricanes. Although demand for Toluene witnessed a gradual pick up due to revival in the transportation industry, it was certainly not enough to recover the spreads with its downstream commodities. Reaching the plateau of the pandemic, several producers continued to reduce their operating rates while others relied on the export demand amid a prudent economy recovery.
Europe
Subdued downstream consumption coupled with muted spot activities dwindled the market fundamentals of Toluene in the European region. Producers already hurt by the squeezed profit margins reduced their operating rates in the second half of third quarter in order to balance the overwhelming supply. In addition, several turnarounds at downstream TDI plant further stalled the demand for the product in the region. The quarterly rise coming from favorable seasonal demand had insignificant impact on the petrochemical market struggling with the repercussions of the lockdown implemented in the previous quarter. Throwing light on the tumbling fundamentals, Northwest Europe’s petrochemical index registered a fall of around 5% for Toluene prices between July to August.
ChemAnalyst addresses the key problematic areas and risks associated with chemical and petrochemical business globally and enables the decision-maker to make smart choices. It identifies and analyses factors such as geopolitical risks, environmental risks, raw material availability, supply chain functionality, disruption in technology and so on. It targets market volatility and ensures clients navigate through challenges and pitfalls in an efficient and agile manner. Timeliness and accuracy of data has been the core competency of Chemanalyst, benefitting domestic as well as global industry in tuning in to the real-time data points to execute multi-billion-dollar projects globally.
Company-wise installed capacity, production volume and plant operating efficiency is captured directly from manufacturers. Import and Export volume is captured from government sources and demand for Acrylonitrile is calculated considering the production, import, export and inventory-levels on the country and regional level markets.
Acrylonitrile price is correlated with the price trend of crude oil, demand-supply gap, Propylene and with movement across the downstream derivatives such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) etc.
Basic details and information on financial performance of leading global players in the Acrylonitrile market is presented in a visually captivating manner. Expansion plans and the company’s strategy is also captured to understand the vision and mission of the company to help understand the areas where companies need to focus more.
Daily updates on industry-specific and product-specific news, exclusive primary-based news capturing plant shutdowns/outages/closures, capacity expansions, operating rates, insights on demand-supply situation, awarding of technology licenses, new product launch and deals specifying mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and disinvestments, to help players capitalize on market opportunity.
ChemAnalyst gathers information through primary research surveys conducted with various Toluene manufacturers, spread across the domestic and international market, suppliers and dealers/distributors to gain insights into value-chains and demand-supply scenario to assess the market situation. Thorough study of company’s annual reports and secondary sources such as exhaustive search on credible paid databases, including our internal database is done to verify the information. All the collected information is analyzed, evaluated and presented in chronological order to depict a meaningful and clear picture of the concerned market.
Our dedicated team of industry experts comprehensively monitors and analyzes various aspects of the Global Toluene market. The team analyzes various industrial segments, strategic viewpoints and provides an analysis of the industry’s performance in the long run. This would enable our clients in efficiently plan their future investments, mitigate risk, understand the cost dynamics and strike out a balance amidst market volatility.
Critical examination of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chains and shift in demand patterns with change in buying behavior of consumers across the globe.
Several ongoing development projects across industries are tracked, followed by the details of major projects in the development stage, which can positively or negatively influence Global Toluene market.
Pricing is captured through exhaustive primary interviews with domestic and international manufacturers, traders and importers and customers on monthly and yearly basis.
Finally, region-specific markets for Toluene are analyzed and region-wise demand pattern is tracked.
Toluene is a colorless organic hydrocarbon, primarily utilized in the synthesis of various chemical derivatives like Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI), Benzoic Acid, Benzoyl Chloride and Paraxylenes. Since Toluene is regarded as a universal solvent, it can be directly used in disinfectants, thinners, paints and adhesives. It is also utilized in the transportation sector as an octane booster for gasoline with high RON. Toluene is majorly produced via two production routes. In first method, it is extracted from pyrolysis of gasoline which in turn is produced from naphtha cracking. In the second method, it is extracted from reformate which is also produced from heavy naphtha cracking. Demand for Toluene in the global market is expected to decline in some of the segments in the coming years as various governments across the globe are inducing restrictions on its consumption due to its significant level of toxicity. However, with toxicity of Toluene being much less in comparison to Benzene, it serves as a viable replacement for the latter in some of applications.
