A new market study conducted by the market research company Ceresana analyses the global butadiene market. Among other things, it forecasts the development of demand, revenues and production of this preliminary product - which is also important for the adhesives industry — up to 2020.

Butadiene is used in computers, carpets and other products. However, more than half of the total demand for butadiene is generated by producers of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene (BR). Almost 70% of these products are processed by the tyre industry, but they are also used in adhesives and sealants.

In 2012, however, there were more and more indications that demand for butadiene was in decline due to slow economic development in downstream industries — especially in the production of tyres. This was reflected in the price for butadiene, which fell considerably in all regions after the end of 2012. According to analysts at Ceresana, this slowdown will only be temporary; the market for butadiene is expected to grow again in the future. In 2020, approx. 13.7 million tonnes of butadiene will be processed by downstream industries.

The study also provides company profiles of the most important manufacturers of butadiene, clearly arranged according to contact data, revenues, profit, product range, production sites and capacities, as well as a summary profile. Detailed profiles of a total of 80 producers are given, including BASF, Braskem, Exxon Mobil, Formosa Plastics, Ineos, JSR, Lotte Chemical, LyondellBasell, Petrobras Argentina, PetroChina, Royal Dutch Shell, Sabic, Sinopec, Total, TPC Group and Zeon.