Global chemical production growth by region 2024 | MarketWatch Insight
"industrial production chemicals" – Google News – Published on 2025-04-30 03:00:00
Signal Summary
Recent BASF data, as aggregated by Statista, shows persistent stagnation in global chemical production between 2019 and 2024. Growth is uneven across regions, with Asia-Pacific markets rebounding quicker than Europe and the Americas, which continue to face contraction or sluggish expansion. This divergence underscores ongoing volatility and structural headwinds, particularly outside of China and select Southeast Asian economies.
Market Uncertainty Factors
- Demand & Growth: Asia-Pacific resumes growth, supported by domestic consumption in China and India; Western economies lag due to weak industrial demand and slower macroeconomic recovery.
- Regulatory Risk: Stringent environmental policies in Europe and North America drive up compliance costs and suppress existing capacity. Policy unpredictability in trade and emissions further amplify planning risk for global players.
- Competition: Global majors face intensifying competition from Asian manufacturers, who leverage cost advantages, supply chain proximity, and flexible regulatory environments.
- Supply Chain: While acute Covid-era disruptions have eased, ongoing logistics bottlenecks, energy volatility, and shipping imbalances affect exports and margin recovery, especially for Europe.
- Innovation: Capital reallocation toward green chemistry and digital production remains a differentiator, though momentum varies by region and capital access.
- Strategic Response: Portfolio optimization, increased M&A focus in emerging markets, and accelerated reshoring efforts are prominent responses from leading players seeking resilience and new growth vectors.
Analyst View
Business leaders in specialty chemicals and polymers must recognize that “return to growth” is now regional and tightly linked to regulatory, cost, and innovation dynamics. Reliance on broad-based recovery is obsolete; pinpointing high-value, high-growth pockets—especially within resilient Asian markets—is critical for defending market share and driving profitability.
Internally, executive teams should challenge assumptions around geographic balance, cost discipline, and investment pacing. How robust is your exposure to Asian demand? Are you prepared for faster policy shifts in decarbonization or trade barriers? Can your operations flexibly pivot supply lines and technology portfolios in a persistently volatile energy and regulatory environment?
Looking ahead, agility—not scale—will distinguish sector winners. Companies that operationalize scenario-based planning, invest in digital and sustainable operations, and pursue inorganic growth opportunities in dynamic geographies will be positioned to capture outsized value as the global chemical landscape is redrawn.
