Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled "Synthetic Rubber Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2015 - 2023." According to the report, the global synthetic rubber market was valued at US$ 29,121.2 Mn in 2014 and is anticipated to reach US$ 45,767.1 Mn by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2015 to 2023.Synthetic rubbers are principally considered as an alternative to natural rubber. Strong emergence of synthetic rubbers in the global rubber market can be chiefly attributed to several interconnected factors. One of the major factors that compelled rubber consumers to shift from natural rubber to synthetic rubber is extremely instable prices of natural rubber. Prevalence of price volatility in the natural rubber market is primarily caused by issues such as inconsistent supply due to fluctuations in raw material obtainability, geographic constraints on rubber plantations, long transport distances, and rapidly rising demand for rubber across the globe. This changing dynamics of the global rubber market has resulted in growing demand for synthetic rubber. This, in turn, is helping industrial consumers of rubber to accomplish cost benefit and raised profit margins.
Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) was the largest product segment of the synthetic rubber market, accounting for more than 30% share in 2014. SBR is a copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene in the approximate proportion of 3:1 by weight. SBR offers better process ability, heat aging, and abrasion resistance. SBR is primarily used in the manufacture of car tires, where these may be blended with natural rubber. Other applications of SBR include conveyor belts, gaskets, hoses, floor tiles, footwear, and adhesives. In terms of growth rate, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is projected to be the fastest growing product segment of the synthetic rubber market during the forecast period. Growth of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) can be primarily ascribed to rising demand for NBR in automotive applications.
Tires was the largest end-user segment of the synthetic rubber market, accounting for more than 50% share in 2014. It is expected to be the fastest growing end-user segment, expanding at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2015 to 2023. Increasing demand for tires, especially green tires, primarily owing to excellent performance and tire labelling regulations is likely to drive the demand for synthetic rubber in the tires segment. Key players operating in the synthetic rubber market include LANXESS AG, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), KUMHO PETROCHEMICAL, TSRC Corporation, Asahi Kasei Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), DuPont, Dynasol Elastomers, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., The Dow Chemical Company, and Versalis S.p.A.
