FACTS & FIGURES

TRADE: GROWTH WAS COMMON EVERYWHERE The value of chemical exports and imports increased, but U.S. trade deficit ballooned

WORLDWIDE TRADE IN

chemicals posted good, and sometimes very good, increases last year as the value of both exports and

imports in major producing countries rose. In the U.S., total chemical exports rose

9.1% from the previous year to $123.1 bil­lion, while imports increased 13.6% to $128.3 billion.

Inorganic chemical exports showed the largest increase among the chemical sectors, rising 22.0% to $7.9 billion. Plastics and fer­tilizers also scored double-digit growth in 2005. Exports of plastics in primary form rose 15.9% to $21.5 billion, while exports of plastics in nonprimary form increased 10.2% to $8.0 billion. Fertilizer exports rose 12.5% to $3.2 billion.

The organic chemicals sector, which has the largest export value among the nine chemical sectors, saw an export increase of just 1.7% to $26.8 billion.

The growth in chemical imports last year was widespread throughout the indus­try, with all but one of the sectors showing increases greater than 10%. The organic chemicals sector was the exception, with only 8.3% growth to $38.1 billion.

Fertilizers saw the largest import growth, rising 46.2% to $3.7 billion, followed by plastics in primary form, which increased

28.0% to $11.1 billion. Imports in the larg­est importing sector, pharmaceuticals, rose 11.2% to $39.0 billion.

The disparity between import and ex­port growth rates in 2005 led to a huge increase in the U.S. chemical trade deficit. After dropping to just $82.0 million in 2004 from the previous year, the deficit swelled to $5.2 billion last year. As in the past, deficits in both the organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors were greater than the sum for all sectors. Pharmaceuti­cals posted the largest deficit, $13.1 billion, up from $11.1 billion in 2004. The organic chemicals deficit of $11.3 billion was well above the $8.8 billion seen in 2004.

In Canada, overall chemical exports increased 10.4% to $22.1 billion, while im­ports rose less than half that rate, 5.1%, to $30.8 billion. The result was a trade deficit of only $8.7 billion, lower than the $9.3 bil­lion deficit in the previous year.

Basic chemical exports from Canada jumped 15.6% to $7.7 billion, after round­ing, while imports increased 6.4% to $7.7 billion; the actual deficit fell to $72.6 mil­lion from $642.2 million in 2004. Agricul­tural chemical exports increased 18.7% to $1.4 billion as imports rose only 2.4%. This sector thus realized a trade surplus of $125 million, compared with a deficit of $63.5 million the year before.

In Europe, six countries showed posi­tive export and import growth, but in most cases, imports rose faster than exports. Within the group, Germany, as usual, had the largest exports, $129.2 billion, up 4.4% from the prior year. Imports rose 9.6%, to $91.2 billion.

Belgium achieved the largest growth in both exports and imports. Exports rose 12.0% to $104.3 billion, and imports in­creased 15.4% to $87.9 billion. Spain fol­lowed closely, recording an 11.7% increase in exports to $22.0 billion and a 7.0% rise in imports to $32.5 billion. The Netherlands did not provide trade data this year.

In Japan, chemical exports for 2005 rose 9.0% from the previous year to $68.2 billion. Imports of chemicals into Japan in­creased 10.4% to $45.2 billion. The result was a 6.3% rise in the county's chemical trade surplus to $22.9 billion.

The largest growth in both chemical exports and imports was in the synthetic resins sector. Japanese exports of resins rose 13.3% to $17.4 billion, while imports increased 13.9% to $8.6 billion. The organic chemicals sector, which sends more product abroad than any other sector, saw exports improve by 8.3% to $17.9 billion, but imports also went up, by 73% to $11.5 billion.

South Korea reports that total chemical exports rose 20.0% to $27.7 billion and im­ports increased 18.6% to $24.5 billion.

China's chemical exports increased 29.6% last year to $31.9 billion, and imports increased 18.7% to $50.6 billion. This trade produced a deficit of $18.7 billion, up from $18.0 billion in 2004.

Exports of organic chemicals, China's largest chemical trade sector, increased by 33.2% to $12.1 billion, and imports rose 17.5% to $28.0 billion.

U.S. TOTAL TRADE Chemical industry kept the number two spot among exporting sectors

u.s. EXPORTS U.S. IMPORTS

$ BILLIONS

Machinery & transport equipment Miscellaneous manufactures Chemicals Manufactured goods classified by material Food & live animals

2002

$349.7 82.1 83.6 65.1 40.3

2003

$351.8 84.9 94.2 67.7 43.3

2004

$393.3 95.7

112.9 78.7 45.5

2005

$433.7 103.8 123.1 89.2 48.3

2002

$505.6 205.2 86.1

126.9 39.2

2003

$523.6 218.9 101.1 132.9 42.9

2004

$596.8 241.2 112.9 170.2 47.0

200S

$649.9 259.8 128.3 190.8 51.4

Crude materials, inedible (except fuels) Mineral fuels & lubricants Beverages & tobacco Animal & vegetable oils, fats & waxes Other

28.1 11.7 4.7 1.9

26.0

33.5 14.0 4.8 2.0

27.5

37.0 18.9 4.8 2.0

29.1

41.2 26.4 4.5 1.8

32.5

19.8 117.1 10.8 1.3

51.5

20.0 155.6 12.0 1.6

50.8

26.3 205.9

12.7 2.3

54.3

28.6 286.4

13.9 2.4

59.5

TOTAL $693.2 $723.7 $817.9 $904.5 $1,163.5 $1,259.4 $1,469.6 $1,671.0

SOURCE: Department of Commerce

W W W . C E N - 0 N L I N E . O R G C&EN / JULY 10, 2006 6 9

TRADE

U.S. CHEMICAL TRADE, BY REGION Both imports from and exports to China and Latin America rose sharply

2002 2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05 $ MILLIONS Europe Canada Latin America Japan China-Vietnam

EXPORTS $26,312

16,344 16,464 6,501 3,043

IMPORTS $52,683

12,108 4,297 7,008 2,426

EXPORTS $30,796

17,891 18,030 6,804 3,731

IMPORTS $61,304

13,492 5,220 8,013 3,029

EXPORTS $36,896

20,053 22,484

7,702 4,831

IMPORTS $67,267

16,674 6,901 8,325 3,770

EXPORTS $39,853

22,413 25,459 8,166 5,549

IMPORTS $73,136

19,727 8,616 8,500 5,216

EXPORTS

8.0% 11.8 13.2 6.0

14.9

IMPORTS 8.7%

18.3 24.9 2.1

38.4

Rest of Asia Australia Middle East Africa Other

10,957 1,637 1,157

859 319

4,951 367

1,788 368 61

12,587 1,809 1,392

736 377

6,259 526

2,249 496 462

15,442 2,189 1,789

910 564

6,276 587

2,481 558 103

15,904 2,435 1,848

983 508

8,023 620

3,602 747 100

3.0 11.2 3.3 8.0

-9.9

27.8 5.6

45.2 33.9 -2.9

TOTAL $83,593 $86,057 $94,153 $101,050 $112,860 $112,942 $123,119 $128,288 9.1% 13.6%

NOTE: Totals may not sum because of rounding. SOURCE: Department of Commerce

EUROPE CHEMICAL TRADE Belgium, Italy, and Spain had double-digit export growth

2002 2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05 $ MILLIONS

Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Spain U.K.

EXPORTS

$83,908 64,710

101,455 33,431 47,758 18,059 57,006

IMPORTS

$68,690 52,077 72,250 43,815 31,170 27,353 47,222

EXPORTS

$84,769 65,127

107,601 32,467 48,385 18,794 56,684

IMPORTS

$68,557 52,537 73,392 44,633 31,169 28,986 46,637

EXPORTS $93,170

68,614 123,740 33,854 54,655 19,718 58,453

IMPORTS

$76,163 55,091 83,227 47,424 35,627 30,415 50,211

EXPORTS $104,319

72,761 129,200 37,502

na 22,031 59,884

IMPORTS

$87,861 60,177 91,200 50,708

na 32,548 52,150

EXPORTS 12.0% 6.0 4.4

10.8 na

11.7 2.4

IMPORTS 15.4% 9.2 9.6 6.9 na 7.0 3.9

NOTE: Monetary statistics for all years were converted from local currencies to U.S. dollars on the basis of the 2005 average exchange rates of $1.00 U.S. = 0.803 euros and 0.549 pounds sterling, na = not available. SOURCES: European Chemical Industry Council, national agencies

NORTH AMERICAN CHEMICALS U.S. trade gap opened up again ...

$ Billions

1995 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

SOURCE: Department of Commerce

... while Canada's shrank

$ Billions

1995 96

NOTEi $1.00 U.S. = $1,212 Canadian SOURCES: Industry Canada, Statistics Canada

GOT A THING FOR DATA? If you're itching to do your own calculations with all these numbers, let yourself go... to www.cen-online.org, that is, where you can access downloadable versions of these tables.

7 0 C & E N / JULY 10, 2006 W W W . C E N - O N L I N E . O R G

Exports

^Import

Γ rade balance

Imports Trade balance

Exports

U.S. CHEMICAL TRADE, BYPRODUCT Led by fertilizers and plastics, chemical imports rose more than exports did in 2005

2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05

$ MILLIONS 2002

EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS

Organic chemicals Plastics in primary form Medicinals & pharmaceuticals Inorganic chemicals Plastics in nonprimary form

$16,839 13,896 16,150 5,612 5,993

$30,213 6,425

24,719 6,018 4,336

$20,451 15,127 19,209 5,756 6,504

$32,876 7,366

31,516 7,419 4,794

$26,377 18,512 23,982 6,440 7,252

$35,212 8,654

35,105 8,273 5,570

$26,836 21,458 25,952 7,854 7,992

$38,140 11,078 39,039 10,169 6.3Î4

1.7% 15.9 8.2

22.0 10.2

8.3% 28.0 11.2 22.9 13.4

Perfume, toilet & cleaning materials Dyeing, tanning & coloring materials Fertilizers Other

6,135 3,976 2,262

12,730

4,195 2,358 1,619 6,174

6,857 4,282 2,552

13,415

5,611 2,481 2,130 6,857

7,745 4,690 2,846

15,016

6,951 2,669 2,530 7,978

8,409 5,018 3,203

16,398

7,926 2,970 3,699 8,952

8.6 7.0

12.5 9.2

14.0 11.3 46.2 12.2

TOTAL $83,593 $86,057 $94,153 $101,050 $112,860 $112,942 $123,119 $128,288 9.1% 13.6%

NOTE: Totals may not sum because of rounding. SOURCE: Department of Commerce

CANADA CHEMICAL TRADEP BY PRODUCT Exports boomed and imports climbed in 2005

2002 2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05

$ MILLIONS

Basic chemicals Resins, synthetic rubber & fibers Pesticides, fertilizers & other agricultural chemicals Pharmaceuticals & medicine Other chemical products

EXPORTS

$5,450.3 5,075.5

1,003.7 2,106.5 3,045.0

IMPORTS

$6,429.2 5,420.6

1,212.5 6,662.0 7,454.4

EXPORTS

$5,091.2 5,018.6

948.4 2,807.3 2,971.5

IMPORTS

$6,255.1 5,212.5

1,261.2 7,457.7 7,276.9

EXPORTS

$6,620.7 5,653.3

1,161.4 3,310.8 3,299.2

IMPORTS

$7,263.7 5,522.9

1,224.9 7,872.1 7,458.5

EXPORTS

$7,656.6 6,196.5

1,378.5 3,578.2 3,319.0

IMPORTS

$7,729.3 6,057.0

1,253.8 8,242.7 7,546.8

EXPORTS

15.6% 9.6

18.7 8.1 0.6

IMPORTS

6.4% 9.7

2.4 4.7 1.2

TOTAL TOTAL WITH U.S. U.S. SHARE

$16,681.0 $27,177.9 $16,837.0 $27,462.6 $20,045.4 $29,342.1 $22,127.9 $30,829.6 $14,168.4 $19,196.0 $14,002.5 $18,829.6 $16,245.2 $19,625.3 $17,654.1 $20,148.6

84.9% 70.6% 83.2% 68.6% 81.0% 66.9% 79.8% 65.4%

10.4% 8.7%

5.1% 2.7%

NOTE: Monetary statistics for all years were converted to U.S. dollars on the basis of the 2005 average exchange rate of $1.00 U.S. = SOURCES: Statistics Canada, Industry Canada

; $1,212 Canadian.

ASIA CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT Chemical trade surpluses grew in both Japan and South Korea

2002 2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05 $ MILLIONS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS IMPORTS

JAPAN Organic chemicals Inorganic chemicals Synthetic resins Photographic materials Fertilizers Dyes & pigments Cosmetics Rubber Other TOTAL

$11,493 1,936

10,495 3,766

84 2,046

712 5,981 7,948

$44,461

$8,085 2,952 5,425

372 523 801

1,519 1,839 8,720

$30,236

$13,458 2,295

12,197 4,104

86 2,430

785 6,879 9,101

$51,335

$9,323 3,468 6,311

403 530 950

1,809 2,259 9,923

$34,976

$16,508 2,708

15,385 4,605

103 2,996

928 7,875

11,412 $62,520

$10,710 4,339 7,518

325 642

1,037 2,121 2,834

11,434 $40,960

$17,883 2,954

17,428 4,681

110 3,135

977 8,584

12,405 $68,157

$11,489 4,754 8,566

319 711

1,084 2,129 3,219

12,964 $45,235

8.3% 9.1

13.3 1.7 6.8 4.6 5.3 9.0 8.7 9.0%

7.3% 9.6

13.9 -1.8 10.7 4.5 0.4

13.6 13.4 10.4%

SOUTH KOREA Chemicals & chemical products Petrochemicals3

$13,762 9,625

$14,156 4,745

$16,936 11,917

$13,482 5,821

$23,126 17,015

$20,655 8,015

$27,745 20,811

$24,502 9,507

20.0% 22.3

18.6% 18.6

NOTE: Totals may not sum because of rounding, a Defined as synthetic resins, synthetic fiber raw materials, and synthetic rubber. SOURCES: Japan Chemical Importers & Exporters Association; National Statistical Office, Republic of Korea; Korea Petrochemical Industry Association

W W W . C E N - O N L I N E . O R G C&EN / J U L Y 10, 2006 7 1

TRADE

CHINA CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT Deficit grew only slightly as exports rose faster than imports

2002 2003 2004 2005 CHANGE, 2004-05 $ MILLIONS

Inorganic chemicals Organic chemicals Pharmaceutical products Fertilizers Dyes & pigments Other3

EXPORTS

$3,030 5,568

790 350

1,390 3,490

IMPORTS

$1,949 11,156

1,130 2,354 2,088 5,626

EXPORTS

$3,595 7,131

918 800

1,526 4,557

IMPORTS

$2,729 16,006

1,392 1,763 2,583 7,316

EXPORTS

$4,840 9,092 1,100 1,309 1,927 6,312

IMPORTS

$3,961 23,846

1,572 2,288 2,975 7,960

EXPORTS

$6,944

12,11-2 1,364 1,011 2,483 7,939

IMPORTS

$4,815 28,020

1,959 3,051 3,081 9,652

EXPORTS

43.5% 33.2 24.0

-22.8 28.9 25.8

IMPORTS

21.6% 17.5 24.6 33.3 3.6

21.2

TOTAL $14,618 $24,303 $18,527 $31,789 $24,580 $42,602 $31,853 $50,578 29.6% 18.7%

a Calculated by C&EN. SOURCE: Customs General Administration of the People's Republic of China

U.S CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE, BY PRODUCT Large deficits in trade of organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals pushed total trade balance deep into the red

$ MILLIONS

Organic chemicals Plastics in primary form Medieinals & pharmaceuticals Inorganic chemicals Plastics in nonprimary form Perfume, toiletries & cleaning materials Dyeing, tanning & coloring materials Fertilizers Other

1995

$3,070 6,425 1,010

-74 1,516

1,634

541 1,834 4,463

1996

$192 6,539

254 -205

1,699

1,995

606 1,676 5,305

1997

-$86 7,220 -507 292

2,114

2,343

869 1,696 6,560

1998

-$3,119 6,476

-1,224 -276

1,834

1,995

1,058 1,714 6,132

1999

-$6,106 6,330

-2,295 -472

1,529

1,863

1,055 1,618 6,261

2000

-$9,632 7,439

-1,572 -582

1,983

2,005

1,529 796

6,944

2001

-$12,680 7,189

-3,203 -463

1,715

2,278

1,399 357

6,857

2002

-$13,373 7,471

-8,570 -406

1,656

1,940

1,619 643

6,556

2003

-$12,425 7,761

-12,307 -1,663 1,710

1,246

1,801 422

6,558

2004

-$8,835 9,858

-11,123 -1,833 1,682

794

2,021 316

7,038

2005

-$11,304 10,380

-13,087 -2,315 1,678

483

2,048 -496

7,446

TOTAL $20,419 $18,061 $20,501 $14,590 $9,783 $8,910 $3,449 -$2,464 -$6,897 -$82 -$5,169

NOTE: Totals may not sum because of rounding. SOURCE: Department of Commerce

CANADA CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE, BY PRODUCT Chemical trade deficit decreased for the second consecutive year

$ MILLIONS

Basic chemicals Resins, synthetic rubber & fibers Pesticides, fertilizers & other agricultural chemicals Pharmaceuticals & medicine Other chemical products

1995

-$27.2

77.6

-106.5 -1,508.1 -2,524.1

1996

-$346.7

-190.7

-75.9 -1,640.1 -2,551.4

1997

-$695.8

-69.3

-94.9 -1,626.9 -2,960.8

1998 1999

-$1,245.6 -$1,545.2

-479.6 -577.8

-340.9 -110.6 -2,174.2 -2,810.6 -3,498.1 -3,869.6

2000

-$832.0

-307.1

-148.6 -3,391.7 -4,038.0

2001

-$1,040.9

-47.9

-287.2 -3,910.0 -3,991.7

2002

-$979.0

-345.0

-208.0 -4,555.5 -4,409.4

2003 2004

-$1,163.8 -$642.2

-194.0 130.4

-312.8 -63.5 -4,649.6 -4,561.3 -4,305.4 -4,158.5

2005

-$72.6

138.7

124.6 -4,664.5 -4,227.8

TOTAL -$4,089.1 - $4,804.8 • $5,448.6 -$7,738.3 -$8,913.7 - $8,717.3--$9,277.8 - $10,496.9 - $10,625.7 -$9,295.9 -$8,700.8

NOTE: Monetary statistics for all years were converted to U.S. dollars on the basis of the 2005 average exchange rate of $1.00 U.S. = $1.212 Canadian. Totals may not sum because of rounding. SOURCES: Statistics Canada, Industry Canada

EUROPE CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE Italy and Spain remained stuck in trade deficits

$ MILLIONS

Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Spain U.K. -

1995

$9,338 7,762

24,320 -10,430 10,831 -5,972 5,815

1996

$8,789 8,943

26,323 -8,854 10,641 -6,076 6,929

1997

$10,666 9,418

31,527 -10,033 11,346 -7,001 8,360

1998

$9,127 9,347

27,181 -12,470 10,882 -7,797 9,314

1999

$11,708 10,729 26,337

-10,625 11,380 -7,781 9,232

2000

$13,419 10,900 29,744

-11,148 14,903 -7,979 9,420

2001

$12,151 12,301 29,956

-10,182 15,101 -8,394 10,389

2002

$15,205 12,622 29,182

-10,375 16,575 -9,286 9,776

2003

$16,199 12,580 34,181

-12,156 17,202

-10,183 10,039

2004

$16,993 13,512 40,480

-13,560 19,013

-10,689 8,235

2005

$16,445 12,574 37,969

-13,196 na

-10,508 A208

NOTE: Monetary statistics for all years were converted from local currencies to U.S. dollars on the basis of the 2005 average exchange rates of $1.00 U.S. = 0.803 euros and 0.549 pounds sterling, na = not available. SOURCES: European Chemical Industry Council, national agencies

7 2 C&EN / JULY 10, 2006 W W W . C E N - O N L I N E . O R G