According to a report by American Chemistry Council (ACC), specialty chemicals market volumes in the US expanded 0.3% in June after rising slightly 0.1% in May and dropping 0.3% in April. The volumes also showed weakness in the first quarter.
The ACC monitors 28 specialty chemical segments in the US. It reported 12 segments experienced an expansion, 13 declined, while the 3 of them were flat. Lubricant additives and mining chemicals made significant market volumes gains of above 1%.
Last month, the total specialty chemicals volume index (SCI) was up 1.9% year-on-year, on a three-month moving average. The index in June was equal to 3.56 million tons, about 115% of its average 2012 levels.
Specialty chemicals include materials produced based on their unique function. They might have only one or two uses but provide a wide variety of effects. They differ from commodity chemicals which account for the majority of the production volume in the global market.
