The US industrial chemical manufacturing industry includes about 1,200 companies with combined annual revenue of $120 billion. Large companies include divisions of Dow, DuPont, and Occidental. The industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 70 percent of revenue. Specific market segments are often dominated by just a handful of competitors. Eight industrial gas producers account for 85 percent of revenue, and eight alkali producers account for 95 percent of revenue.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand depends on the overall strength of the US economy, because most industrial chemicals are used in the manufacture of more-complicated products like fibers, plastics, paints, and paper. The profitability of individual companies is closely linked to efficient operations, because most products are commodities. Big producers have large economies of scale in production, which is why some chemicals are made by just a handful of companies. Small companies can compete effectively by making specialized or highly-purified products. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $600,000.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Industrial chemicals include gases like oxygen and nitrogen, dyes and pigments, chlorine and caustic soda, sulfuric and nitric acids, and thousands of organic chemicals. Unlike advanced chemicals that are manufactured through complicated chemical reactions, most industrial chemicals are made by extraction and purification from natural substances, including minerals, natural gas, petroleum, plants, air, and water. Oxygen and nitrogen gas are made by freezing air, phosphates from marine deposits, ...
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