Engineering plastics boom, but margins stay flat

摘要

Engineering plastics enjoy the most attractive growth rates in the plastics sector, with demand forecast to increase an average of 8-10%/year through 2002. But competition is fierce and margins are under pressure, particularly for commodity-like engineering plastic resins sold primarily on cost, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). ABS has suffered from intermaterial substitution, from materials such as polypropylene, syndiotactic polystyrene and some polyesters. The outlook for other major engineering thermoplastics, including nylon and PC, is strong. Total demand for engineering thermoplastics worldwide is expected to reach 22 billion lb by 2000, according to a Bayer study.