ICIS publishes a Butanediol report for Asia, Europe and the US, though the Europe and US reports are combined as a global report.
Contract and spot price assessments are made by our locally based reporters, and market news and analysis, such as production, upstream/downstream activity and graphs, are all included when relevant. Our independent reports are an essential tool to help you make important commercial decisions.
Updated to Q4 2020
Asia
Supply in the region declined with plants in Europe and the US declaring force majeure, resulting in fewer parcels flowing east. Two plants in Asia announced permanent shutdowns, one by the end of 2020 and the other by the end of March 2021, further fuelling the perception of tight availability. Other plants in the region did not operate fully as feedstock costs have risen, squeezing margins.
Buying momentum improved in Q4 as downstream sectors continued to recover. Higher manufacturing output for textiles, automotives and finished products lifted consumption of downstream chemicals, which in turn boosted demand for BDO. The positive market momentum carried into the year end, with suppliers anticipating further pick up in 2021.
Europe
The supply of BDO tightened in Q4 due to a combination of domestic supply disruptions and limited imports. BASF experienced a force majeure which lasted from mid-October to late November following a technical incident ahead of planned maintenance at its facility. Rising prices in Asia greatly reduced the availability and competitiveness of imports.
Demand for BDO rose sharply in Q4 compared with the weak consumption seen for much of Q2 and Q3, due to the impact of the pandemic on the key automotive industry. Demand in October and November was healthy and sources described December demand as unseasonably strong, and at least 20% higher than for the same month in 2019.
US
Supply constraints helped support prices, with Q4 contracts assessed higher for the first time in two years. The H2 closure of Lycra’s Texas plant represented a 28% decrease in US BDO capacity, according to the ICIS Supply and Demand Database. In October, LyondellBasell declared force majeure on its BDO and derivatives as a result of a feedstock issue.
Demand continued to rebound in Q4. Durable goods in particular saw a strong improvement in the US, as consumers shifted spending away from travel and entertainment amid persistent pandemic-related lockdowns. The downstream automotive sector continued to improve, though construction maintained its position at the forefront of the economic recovery.
We offer the following regional Butanediol analysis and news coverage to keep you informed of factors and developments affecting prices in the Butanediol marketplace.
Price reporting
Price history
News & analysis
Regional price assessments, published daily or weekly, enabling you to keep track of trading prices, understand price drivers/fluctuations and set a benchmark for contract price settl ements. ICIS offers reports on over 180 commodities across the global petrochemical, energy and fertilizer markets. Information covered in our price reports includes:
Information is accessed online, via the ICIS dashboard service and is configurable to suit your preferences.
Produced by the ICIS Consulting team, these reports give a robust rolling 12-month price forecast, trade balances and in-depth analysis into where markets are heading – providing a valuable tool to support your short- to medium-term plans.
ICIS pricing intelligence is delivered to you online via the ICIS dashboard. Here you can view your reports and also access other useful services including related news, analysis, historical data and market alerts.
ICIS dashboard also makes it easy for you to create pricing charts, download price history and export data to create tailored analytical models.
ICIS weekly margin reports deliver the detail you need to understand how production costs and prices are affecting margins, enabling you to judge the likely impact on your business and optimise your upstream and downstream business decisions.
Find out more about ICIS margin reports
The Supply and Demand Window on the ICIS Dashboard provides a snapshot view of historical and forecast information for supply and demand, production capacity and trade flows – a key tool to help safeguard future investments within the chemicals market.
24-hour global coverage of breaking news in the petrochemical industry, including updates on production, shutdowns and key transacted deals, keeping you informed of market developments as they happen. The ICIS news service allows you to customise the market alerts delivered to your email inbox, providing the business-critical information you need straightaway.
If you want to keep updated on the factors driving price movements in the global chemical markets, ICIS Chemical Business provides a summary of the information you need to support your business decisions. Every week, our global team of experts digests and summarises the key issues and their potential impact on the market – all in one magazine.
An expert view of supply and demand comprising four fully-reconciled databases, giving you access to extensive data for more than 100 markets. Information is included on global and regional trade flows, production, capacity and sources of demand in the short-, medium- and long-term. Data can be downloaded, customised and queried to support your planning requirements and your strategic decisions.
ICIS provides specialist training courses across the global petrochemicals, base oils and fertilizers industries. Our training team of industry experts can help you increase your knowledge of the industry and gain the insight and know-how needed to operate and trade effectively.
ICIS produces a series of highly informative and timely conferences. Extensive research is carried out to ensure that each programme delivers the information you need and addresses current industry issues. We source speakers who have the appropriate expertise and experience to deliver excellent quality papers.
Working closely with you to understand your strategies, challenges and ambitions, the ICIS consulting team deliver tailored advice and solutions to suit your unique requirements. With many years’ experience of guiding business leadership teams, we show you how market conditions can make a positive or negative impact on your long-term plans.
ICIS expert consultants can provide your organisation with the insight, intelligence and data needed to build and grow your business in China. We can help you to gain a clear view on the short and long-term supply and demand picture in the chemicals, energy, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals and paper and pulp markets in China.
ICIS price assessments are based on information gathered from a wide cross-section of the market, comprising consumers, producers, traders and distributors from more than 250 reporters world-wide. Confirmed deals, verified by both buyer and seller, provide the foundation of our price assessments.
Our in-depth market knowledge drives our specialist focus, as we recognise the importance of individual market dynamics and not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Over 25 years of reporting on key chemicals markets, including Butanediol, has brought global recognition of our methodology as being unbiased, authoritative and rigorous in preserving our editorial integrity. Our global network of reporters in Houston, London, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Perth and Moscow ensures unrivalled coverage of established and emerging markets.
1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an intermediate product; a colourless and almost odourless viscous liquid.
Butanediol (BDO) is a colourless and almost odourless viscous liquid. This hygroscopic diol is soluble in water, alcohols, esters, ketones, glycol ethers and glycol ether acetates; immiscible in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and diethylether.
BDO is a chemical intermediate used in the production of polymers, solvents and fine chemicals.
The largest consumer is tetrahydrofuran (THF), used to make polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) which goes into spandex fibres, urethane elastomers and copolyester ethers. The next largest outlet is polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).
Sizeable quantities of BDO go into the manufacture of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), which has outlets in electronics and high-performance polymers.
Click here to see the latest blog post on Asian Chemical Connections by John Richardson, which discusses the recent Iran-China deal. Iran could end up with an 85% share of China’s total low density...
ReadHOUSTON (ICIS)--After US Q2 butanediol (BDO) contracts settled at a record-high increase, buyers are left speculating on when critically tight supply will ease. After months of insufficient supply,...
ReadLONDON (ICIS)--Nick Cleeve, editor of the butanediol (BDO) report, discusses the tight market situation in Europe with Zubair Adam, editor of the engineering plastics report which includes downstream...
ReadHOUSTON (ICIS)--Supply of US butanediol (BDO) and derivatives is severely short, and among other issues is contributing to production constraints in the key automotive sector. In particular, US...
Read