US Chemical Industry Research Articles

C&EN’s top 50 US chemical producers

Despite headwinds like the war in Europe, high inflation, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US chemical industry made it out of 2022 in relatively good shape. That is one interpretation of the results of C&EN’s new survey of the top 50 US chemical producers, which is based on these firms’ financial results for 2022. These 50 chemical makers posted combined sales of $376.7 billion, an 11.4% increase from a year ago and a new record for the annual survey. Only six firms posted a sales decline. But for the 43 firms that disclose profit figures, combined chemical operating profits fell 4.8%, to $55.2 billion. Sixteen firms posted an earnings decline. One company, Trinseo, posted a loss. Many of those that reported reduced profits—Dow, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell Industries, and Westlake—are large petrochemical makers. The petrochemical industry built a lot of capacity in recent years, and the sector is

Court dismisses US chemical industry suit on PFAS in drinking water

Court dismisses US chemical industry suit on PFAS in drinking water

US chemical industry will take a hit from a mild recession

US chemical industry will take a hit from a mild recession

US chemical industry will take a hit from a mild recession

US chemical industry will take a hit from a mild recession

Trade group sees trouble ahead for US chemical industry

Trade group sees trouble ahead for US chemical industry

Trade group predicts trouble ahead for US chemical industry

Trade group predicts trouble ahead for US chemical industry

Technology Searching Breadth and Innovation Productivity: Evidence from the Chemical Industry

The association between technology searching breadth and innovation productivity has received much attention from scholars. While conventional wisdom argues that there is negative relationship of technology searching breadth and efficiency in production, we assert that under innovation contexts the relationship between the scope of sourcing knowledge and innovation productivity has curvilinear. Adopting the construct of innovation productivity based on the production function measured in financial terms, we explore the relation in the US chemical industry context based on the organizational learning theory, by using the financial and patent-based panel data. In addition, we investigate the moderating role of traits of financial resources as the boundary conditions of the association between them. This study contributes to the extension of organizational learning theory to innovation productivity and to suggesting an integrated view by collaborating with financial economics and to giving managers the guidance of effective technology searching breadth on innovation productivity.

How to define PFAS

The name for a family of commercial chemicals usually provides a fairly clear idea of the related compounds within it. An example is organophosphate pesticides . Another is brominated flame retardants . But the moniker per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is less distinct. What constitutes this clan of thousands of environmentally persistent and widely used synthetic compounds, including some toxic molecules, depends on a detailed definition. There’s more than a single definition of PFAS . The one that policy makers use will ultimately determine which fluorinated chemicals are scrutinized for possible regulation. In the US, environmental and health activists are worried about a PFAS definition that the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out a year ago. It includes far fewer molecules than one crafted by an international panel that included EPA scientists. Meanwhile, the US chemical industry’s largest trade association says both the international panel’s definition and the EPA’s are too

Reducing the Potential Scope of Chemical Catastrophes in the US Chemical Industry: Evidence From the EPA's Risk Management Planning Program.

Available information suggests that some chemical facilities are reducing the potential for catastrophic chemical releases to nearby communities. However, the actual extent and nature of any technological changes are not well documented, and the pace of change is slow at best. Moreover, major federal programs do not routinely investigate industry practices and communicate lessons learned, thereby missing important opportunities to generate knowledge of solutions that reduce populations at risk.

US chemical industry group backs flexible climate disclosures

US chemical industry group backs flexible climate disclosures

US chemical industry looks for a rebound in 2022

US chemical industry looks for a rebound in 2022

US chemical industry looks to put pandemic woes behind it in 2022

US chemical industry looks to put pandemic woes behind it in 2022

Recovery to come slowly for US chemical industry

The US chemical industry is a few months into recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but full recuperation won’t happen until 2023. That’s the view from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the US chemical industry’s main trade association. US chemical sales should recover this year, the ACC says, with a projected total of $525 billion, not including pharmaceuticals, up from $486 billion in 2020 and $509 billion in 2019. But employment, capital expenditures, and production volumes won’t return to prepandemic levels until late 2022 or early 2023, ACC predicts. The trade group expects strong chemical demand through 2021 from consumer-focused industries such as auto, construction, and durable goods. That notion is supported by projections from the World Bank, which said in June that the overall US gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic growth, will be up by 6.8% for the year. The ACC expects specialty chemicals, notably coatings, to

The US chemical industry will take until 2023 to recoup lost 2020 growth

The US chemical industry will take until 2023 to recoup lost 2020 growth

Factors contributing to US chemical plant process safety incidents from 2010 to 2020

Process safety incidents can result in injuries, fatalities, environmental impacts, facility damage, downtime & lost production, as well as impacts on a company's and industry's reputation. This study is focused on an analysis of the most commonly reported contributing factors to process safety incidents in the US chemical manufacturing industry. The database for the study contained 79 incidents from 2010 to 2019, partly investigated by the Chemical Safety Board (CSB). To be included in the study, the CSB archive of incident investigations were parsed to include only incidents which occurred at a company classified as 325 in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), assigned to businesses that participate in chemical manufacturing. For each incident, all of the identified contributing factors were catalogued in the database. From this list of identified contributing factors, it was possible to name the ‘top three’ contributing factors. The top three contributing factors cited for the chemical manufacturing industry were found to be: design; preventive maintenance; and safeguards, controls & layers of protection. The relationship between these top contributing factors and the most common OSHA citations was investigated as well. The investigation and citation history for NAICS 325 companies in the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) citations database was then analysed to assess whether there was any overlap between the top reported contributing factors to process safety events and the top OSHA citations recorded for the industry. A database consisting of the inspection and citation history for the chemical manufacturing industry identified by NAICS code 325 was assembled for inspections occurring between 2010 and 2020 (August). The analysis of the citation history for the chemical manufacturing industry specifically, identified that the list of the top contributing factors to process safety incidents overlapped with the most common OSHA violations. This finding is relevant to industry stakeholders who are considering how to strategically invest resources for achieving maximum benefit – reducing process safety risk and simultaneously improving OSHA citation history.

US chemical industry will bounce back this year

The shape of the US recovery from the short, but sharp, recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will likely resemble a V with a flat bottom—really more of a U. Many sectors of the economy, includ...

US chemical industry to bounce back

US chemical industry to bounce back

US chemical industry to grow

The chemical industry is already in recovery mode from a short but unusually deep recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the...

US chemical industry to return to growth in 2021

US chemical industry to return to growth in 2021

No new financial assurances needed for US chemical industry

The US chemical industry doesn’t need to provide extra financial assurance , such as through bonds guaranteeing payment, to show that it can cover potential pollution cleanup, the Environmental Pro...