Capital Spending Forecasted To Decrease Worldwide For The Chemical Processing Industry In 2002

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The following in an advisory by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). According to the 2002 Industrial Outlook published by Industrialinfo.com, capital and maintenance spending for the U.S. chemical industry will decline by over 6% in the year 2002. Although a decrease in spending is anticipated, predictions that natural gas prices will remain relatively stable in 2002 could help North American chemical producers justify further spending.

In 2001, overcapacity of many chemicals such as paraxylene and polystyrene have led a growing number of chemical plants to run below 75% of their rated capacity and even shutter entire production units at times to reduce costs and remain profitable. Mergers and acquisitions as well as spin-offs such as the Eastman Chemical split have been shelved until improvements are made in global economies.

Most international regions will only experience modest growth in 2002 and the biggest spending will be for ethylene and petrochemical derivatives. As forecasted by Industrial Information Resources in the 2002 Industrial Outlook, It is anticipated that the chemical industry, one of the primary development industries, will play a significant role in capital investments over the next five years. However with the present economic recession in the U.S., combined with lower international market demand, International growth for the chemical industry will be lower than expected during the first quarter of 2002. For more information on the 2002 Industrial Outlook available on CD-ROM, visit http://www.industrialinfo.com/indoutlook.htm.