Demand for industrial gases to reach $52 billion by 2014
In a recent report titled “World Industrial Gases,” the Freedonia Group says that world demand for industrial gases will increase 8% annually to $52 billion in 2014. Volumetric consumption will expand 5% per year to 530 billion cubic meters in the same year. Industrial gases are used throughout the world in numerous applications, but the nations of fastest growth will be the emerging industrial economies of the Asia/Pacific region, especially China and India. Countries with advanced, highly developed industrial economies will grow more slowly. Other developing regions (Central and South America and Africa/ Mideast) will also experience above average growth.
Industrial gases used by the chemical processing and petroleum refining industries comprise the largest gas consuming category, accounting for 40% of merchant industrial gas consumption. The chemical manufacturing sector uses industrial gases as feed stocks or process gases for the production of a huge array of chemicals and petrochemicals. In petroleum refining, the drive toward cleaner burning, low-sulfur fuels will stimulate demand for hydrogen. Countries with strict mandates for clean fuel are already using voluminous amounts of hydrogen. Those where clean fuel standards are still to be implemented will require similar amounts of hydrogen, as they strive to reduce harmful environmental emissions. Much of this incremental hydrogen will be supplied by merchant producers of the gas, and the supply of merchant hydrogen to refiners represents the largest growth opportunity for this industry.
Metal production and fabricating is the second-largest market segment for industrial gas consumption, and will account for 24% of total demand value in 2014. Global recession caused steel output to fall drastically in recent years in many mature economies. However, as the steel industry recovers and returns to normal production levels, industrial gas demand in the metal market will register the fastest growth of any other segment. Geographically, the best growth opportunities will exist in China, Japan, the US, Germany and India.
Comments