North American Chemical Industry Prepares for the Start of Nearly $1.8 Billion of Capital Projects During the Second Quarter of 2009

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Despite the continued setbacks of a very slow economy that is not showing signs of any significant improvement in the near future, the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) of North America is still planning to begin construction of more than 100 capital projects in the second quarter of 2009. These projects represent nearly $1.8 billion in total spending, making for an average total investment value (TIV) of $16 million per project. Although this spending is almost half that of the same quarter last year, the total number of projects is actually very similar, providing some reassurance for contractors that project activity hasn't stopped entirely, but is simply smaller in scale.

Some of the largest and most notable project potentials for the upcoming quarter are planned by Linde Gas North America LLC (Murray Hill, New Jersey), Evonik Degussa Corporation (Theodore, Alabama), MarkWest-Javelina Company (Corpus Christi, Texas) and even LyondellBasell Industries (Rotterdam, Netherlands). Projects planned to begin construction by these few companies during the second quarter total more than $400 million based on projects identified as part of Industrial Info's North American Project Database. Engineers or contractors have been identified for most of these projects.

As in any quarter, there are a number of projects planned to get under way that seem less likely then others to actually staying on the currently planned schedule. In the approaching quarter there are at least three or four very large projects that appear overly optimistic about beginning construction during the next three months. Formosa Plastics Corporation USA (Livingston, New Jersey) is expected to make a decision soon for a nearly $300 million expansion of its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, plant site, which has already been delayed on several occasions. YaSheng Group Limited (Redwood City, California) has been working hard to begin construction for Phase I of a very large chemical logistics center planned in Redwood City that appears likely to be delayed once again based on the current economic situation.

Even with the recent slowdown in spending, the CPI is still one of the largest segments of the North American economy and continues to be a huge opportunity for equipment, technology and service providers. As the general economy improves, most plant owners expect to see project activity pick back up in the CPI very quickly. Spending for maintenance and reliability projects continues to move forward with great momentum, as recently reported by Industrial Info on March 27, 2009 - Chemical Industry Maintenance Spending Planned for Second Quarter Grows.

View Plant Profile - 1055666 1006433 1000816 1009470 1013317 1066439
View Project Report - 09003830 04003669 01011779 09004037 02005607 06004587 02006164

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.