ACC: U.S. chemical production to grow strongly

　　Recently, the American Chemical Industry Council (ACC) released its mid-year chemical industry situation and outlook report, saying that despite the challenges posed by the global economic slowdown, U.
S.
chemical production will achieve the strongest growth in more than a decade in 2022
.
After growing 1.
6% in 2021, ACC expects U.
S.
chemical production to grow 4.
1% this year and 2.
4% in 2023
.

　　"We expect solid growth for the U.
S.
chemical industry this year," ACC chief economist and managing director Martha Moore said at the ACC annual meeting in Colorado
.
U.
S.
economic growth has been below the expected trend for several years
.
A return to growth in manufacturing demand, continued feedstock advantage, competitive U.
S.
exports and inventory rebuilding will all be sources of strong chemical demand growth this year
.

　　ACC expects U.
S.
production of basic chemicals to increase by 4.
3% in 2022, with bulk petrochemicals and organics increasing the most at 4.
6%; plastic resins growing by 4.
4%; and inorganic chemicals increasing by 4.
4%
.
Driven by strong demand and replenishment, the output of specialty chemicals will increase by 6.
2% in 2022
.

　　U.
S.
capital spending is on the rise, aided by sustainability-driven investments
.
U.
S.
chemical capital spending will grow 12.
3% to $34.
5 billion in 2022 and 5.
5% to $36.
4 billion in 2023
.
Moore said a recent survey of ACC members found that, on average, a quarter of capital spending was related to sustainable manufacturing investment
.
From innovative low-emission technologies to advanced plastic recycling and recovery technologies, investment in sustainable solutions will increasingly be a key driver of capital expenditures for the chemical industry
.

　　Growth in the chemical industry outside the United States has slowed
.
ACC expects global chemical production to grow by 2.
8% in 2022, following a 5.
3% increase last year
.
Chemical production in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa will increase by 2.
9% this year, and Latin America will increase by 2.
5%
.
Chemical production in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union is expected to fall by 9% this year due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and sanctions on Russian companies
.
There will also be a sharp drop in chemical production growth in Western Europe, which is expected to grow 1.
4% this year, followed by a strong 4.
5% increase in 2021, Moore said
.

　　Moore added that risks are gradually tilting to the downside as the global economy slows
.
Global GDP is expected to grow by 3.
2% in 2022, following a 5.
9% increase last year
.
World trade is expected to grow 3.
6% this year after rising 10.
4% in 2021
.
Moore said: "With inflation rising to the highest level in decades, supply chain bottlenecks intensified and global economic growth slowed
.
" The Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused huge turmoil in energy and commodity markets and severely damaged the world economy
.
Globally, supply chains remain constrained, which will further impact world trade
.