Sometimes things don't turn out as you expect them to. This must be what manufacturers of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) worldwide are telling themselves. The annual IBC report published in last year's Bulletin was filled with tales predicting 2004 to be the year the chemical industry finally reached that long awaited' upturn'. Well we're here - and we're still waiting. It can't be denied that the situation has indeed improved over the past 12 months but equally industry has not seen the results it would have liked to. South-east Asia still remains a force to contend with, despite inferences suggesting that its power as an industrial region would not hold any weight against the established power of the west. On the contrary; a recent survey carried out by consultancy group McKinsey revealed that business leaders in China and India were at the top of the world economic confidence league .Indiainparticularwasnotalone in its self-confidence in the country's economy: some 32 per cent of European companies and 29 per cent of North American companies surveyed, said they were ready to set up R&D bases in India. However, there remains an air of disbelief in these statistics from certain corners of industry and a reluctance to take these developing markets seriously. Should this attitude continue, it is quite possible the non-believers may get left behind. Here we take a look at trading conditions for the manufacturers of the various IBC types.
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