Lower Oil Prices, Recovery of End Use Markets Boost American Chemistry Growth
Despite facing global headwinds, American chemistry expanded at a healthy 2% growth rate in 2014, and is expected to reach a 3.7% gain in output in 2015 before hitting 3.9% in 2016, according to the “Year End 2014 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook,” published by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The report’s consensus is that U.S. chemical output will continue to expand well into the second half of the decade, exceeding that of the overall U.S. economy.
“The appreciation of the dollar, coupled with increased domestic supply of unconventional oil and gas, is helping to drive oil prices down,” said Kevin Swift, Ph.D., chief economist. “In turn, manufacturing costs are reduced, production is stimulated, inflation restrained, and consumer confidence, along with purchasing power and spending, is boosted.”