Chemical Profile: SB Rubber

23 January 2006 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

 

Producer	Capacity
Emulsion-Polymerized Solid Rubber
Goodyear, Houston, Tex.	265,000
ISP Elastomers, Port Neches, Tex.	200,000
Lion Copolymer, Baton Rouge, La.	150,000
Subtotal	615,000
Solution-Polymerized Solid Rubber
American Synthetic Rubber, Louisville, Ky.	25,000
Bayer, Orange, Tx.	25,000
Bridgestone/Firestone, Lake Charles, La.	180,000
Goodyear, Beaumont, Tx.	135,000
Subtotal	365,000
TOTAL	980,000

*Metric tons per year of emulsion and solution polymerized solid styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Capacity figures are for net dry rubber, including rubber hydrocarbon and extender oils, but not carbon black. Commercial production is by the copolymerization of butadiene with styrene, approximately 3:1 by weight. In the emulsion process, the feedstocks are dispersed in water in the presence of a catalyst and a stabilizer. In the solution process, the reactants are dispersed in a hydrocarbon solution in the presence of an organo-metallic complex. Some facilities have multipurpose swing capacities and significant production may be captive material.

 

ISP Elastomers (Division of International Specialty Products) has completed the first phase of its emulsion SBR expansion at Port Neches, Tex., earlier this year, increasing plant capacity from 181,500 metric tons per year to 200,000 tons. In a second expansion phase, which will be completed in July or August, capacity will be raised to 218,000 tons per year. Plans call for a third expansion in 2007, which will bring capacity at the plant to 317,000 tons per year. International Specialty Products acquired the SBR business and Port Neches plant of Ameripol Synpol in August, 2003.

 

DSM Copolymer was acquired by Lion Chemical Capital in November, 2005, and was renamed Lion Copolymer.  

 

PROFILE LAST PUBLISHED 6/10/02; THIS REVISION, 1/23/06

 

DEMAND

2003: 750,000 metric tons; 2004: 770,000 tons; 2008: 810,000 tons, projected. Demand equals production plus imports (2003: 161,000 tons; 2004: 148,000 tons) less exports (2003: 184,000 tons; 2004: 206,000 tons).

 

 

GROWTH

Historical (1999–2004): -2.5% (negative) per year. Future: 1.3% per year through 2008.

 

PRICE

Historical (1999–2004): High, $0.69 per pound, market, SBR Type 1712 (cold, dry, oil extended) list, f.o.b. works; low, $0.69, same basis. Current: $0.74, same basis. Contract price is currently $0.62 to $0.65 per pound; spot price $0.69 to $0.72 per pound. Solution SBR sells at a 1-to-3 cent-per-pound premium over emulsion SBR for tire grades, and 5 to 10 cents per pound for specialty grades. Source: ICIS-LOR

 

 

 

 

USES

Tires and tire products, including tread rubber, 76 percent; mechanical goods, 15 percent; automotive, 5 percent; miscellaneous, including adhesives, floor tile and shoe soles, 4 percent. Source: CMR

 

 

 

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

SBR is the largest-volume synthetic rubber claiming 40 percent of synthetic rubber consumption in all applications. SBR’s superior abrasion resistance and favorable cost/performance balance versus polybutadiene and natural rubber, assure that it will continue to be used in large volume for production of tires and tire products. Non-tire automotive uses are growing, particularly in replacement parts, since the driving life of the average passenger car continues to increase.

SBR consumption basically follows tire production, but in recent years SBR consumption has been declining at a greater rate than has passenger tire production. This is attributed to the decline of domestic passenger car production (lost market share to imports), automobile downsizing (but somewhat offset by the popularity of SUVs), conversion from bias to radial tire design (radials require more natural rubber in the blend and wear less), and imported vehicle tires.

OUTLOOK

With automobile and light truck production projected to be essentially flat, taking about 50 million tire units per year, SBR growth will largely come from replacement tires and truck retreads. The Rubber Manufacturers Association forecast the replacement tire market to grow at 1.8% annually for the next five years. For aggregate SBR growth, the forecast is 1.3% per year.

-Mark Kirschner

ICIS Copyright © Reed Business Information 2009

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