Crumb rubber (CR) processing is an emerging recycling application which currently accounts for about 12% of annual discarded scrap tires (ST). However, CR markets are quite complex and still in a very dynamic evolutionary stage. While CR markets will likely expand in the future, they will probably continue to experience a high degree of variability. For CR producers, there appears to be a pattern that many companies start up, often with state subsidies of some type, but fail to maintain markets and are forced out of business over a relatively short time period. To be successful, CR processors must carefully consider customer needs and CR quality specifications, competitors' products and pricing sensitivities, projected markets, government policies, and uncertainties of operating and capital costs.
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