High growth forecast for carbon black market

Two recent reports are predicting increased use of carbon black in different industries over the next few years. BCC Research forecasts in its new report that carbon black is expected to show a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 per cent from 2014-2019, leading to a global market size of US$36 bln in the end year.

Carbon black is not only used in tyres, but as a filler in a number of industries, notably plastics, and increased polymer production in the construction, automotive and packaging industries will drive growth in the global industrial fillers market.

Fillers are inexpensive materials added to other base materials such as plastics, rubbers, paper, and concrete to enhance their reinforcement properties. They can replace expensive base materials, thus reducing overall product cost while enhancing the reinforcement properties of plastics, adhesives, sealants, rubbers, paints, concrete, and paper.

The second report is from Persistence Market Research (PMR) and is concerned with Conductive Carbon Black (CCB). The global CCB market is projected to expand at a robust CAGR of 6.8 per cent and 6.0 per cent in terms of value and volume, respectively, up to 2020.

The report segments the market by application into plastics, battery electrodes, rubber, paint and coatings and others.

Growth of the global conductive carbon black market is mainly driven by the rising impetus from the plastics industry and the expanding applications of conductive carbon black in various industries. Also, the property of conductive carbon black to impart desired conductivity at low concentrations distinguishes it from conventional carbon black and, thus, is expected to encourage its adoption in wider range of applications and products in the near future. Currently, tyre companies are engaged in increasing durability and performance of tyres, while at the same time, focusing on enhancing their quality. Companies are increasingly focusing on R&D to capitalize on the various properties of specialty or conductive carbon blacks, in order to enhance the average life of tyres.