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