On Friday, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) expected that in 2020, the US chemical industry volumes would decline by 3.3% due to the pandemic of coronavirus.
This year, the shock from negative demand will drive US industrial production to slump by 8.4%. Base chemical volumes would decline by 2.9% while specialties volumes to slid by 4.4%.
ACC said that there is significant uncertainty in the forecasts, therefore the council provides an interim update to reflect parts of the potential impact of the pandemic.
The council said that the chemical volumes in the country would decline significantly due to the big drop in the key automotive and construction end markets.
ACC expected that in the US this year, housing would drop by 1.08 million from last year’s 1.33 million while vehicle sales would fall to 13.1 million from 2019’s 16.9 million. Further, the ACC estimated a rebound to happen in 2021 but the housing starts and vehicle sales would likely persist below the level it reached in 2019.
However, there are still some bright spots for the industry. ACC said that in response to the coronavirus, demands for some chemistry used for cleaners, disinfectants, materials for personal protective equipment (PPE), and plastics used in some medical devices would rise.
Additionally, ACC predicted the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by 4% in 2020 with consumer spending and business investments to likely post significant weakenings.
