TOTAL - Competitors

TOTAL Competition

Now Viewing TOTAL's competition in: Chemicals (primary)

Recent Developments

US Chemical Production Growth Slows - Domestic production of chemicals in 2007 was at the lowest annual growth rate since the last recession. Overall US production of chemicals rose only 0.5 percent in 2007 compared to year-earlier levels. By segment, production of basic chemicals increased 2.6 percent; pharmaceuticals, 1.6 percent; and resins and related products, about 1.4 percent. Production declined for pesticides, fertilizers, and other agricultural chemicals, which collectively dropped 7.1 percent.

Shipment Growth Highest in Agricultural Chemicals - Overall US manufacturer shipments of chemical products, including agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paints, coatings, and adhesives, rose only 0.4 percent in 2007 from year-earlier levels. Some segments did better than others: shipments of pesticides, fertilizers, and other agricultural chemicals increased 19.6 percent from 2006 levels, and paints, coatings, and adhesives grew 3 percent. In contrast, shipments of pharmaceuticals and medicine declined 4.2 percent.

Major Chemical Segments Raise Prices in 2007 - Manufacturer prices rose in 2007 for four major chemical segments: agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicals, paint, and drugs and pharmaceuticals. Annual US producer prices for agricultural chemicals increased 15.7 percent and for industrial chemicals, 6.4 percent, from year-earlier levels. Manufacturer prices rose 4.5 percent for paint and 3.6 percent for drugs and pharmaceuticals.

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven by the health of the US economy because chemicals are used to make a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. The profitability of individual companies is closely tied to efficient operations. Big companies have large economies of scale in production. Small companies can compete effectively by producing specialty products, of which there are a large number, or by operating a single plant highly efficiently. The industry is highly automated: average annual revenue per employee is over $500,000.

Full Industry Overview For Chemicals

Chemicals Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US chemicals is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 5.7 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Chemical Manufacturing Growth Volatile

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.