FINANCES

U.S. SHIPMENTS
Demand for chemicals improved over the previous year

CANADA SHIPMENTS
Most products saw a dramatic increase in 2004

EUROPE SHIPMENTS
Strong euro kept European shipments growing

U.S. PRICE INDEX
Not all industry sectors saw big price increases

CANADA PRICE INDEX
Organic chemical prices rose sharply in 2004

EUROPE PRICE INDEX
Producer prices have begun edging up

TOP 50 U.S. CHEMICAL COMPANIES
Sales and profits jumped for most U.S. chemical producers in 2004

U.S. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
For most U.S. chemical companies, financial ratios improved

U.S. COMPANY RESULTS
Big earnings gains were seen among chemical companies, but results were mixed at pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical firms

CANADA COMPANY RESULTS
Earnings and sales surged for every major Canadian company in 2004

EUROPE COMPANY RESULTS
Most companies finally saw earnings growth

JAPAN COMPANY RESULTS
Many companies posted record earnings, while price/earning ratios descended to reasonable levels

U.S. CAPITAL SPENDING
Spending on plant and equipment dropped after pickup the year before

CANADA CAPITAL SPENDING
Investment activity increased again in 2004

EUROPE CAPITAL SPENDING
Total spending continued to dwindle from high of 2000

JAPAN CAPITAL SPENDING
Sumitomo and Shin-Etsu were biggest spenders by a wide margin

U.S. R&D SPENDING
Chemical company spending has yet to recover to 2001 levels, while outlays by pharmaceutical firms soared by comparison

EUROPE R&D SPENDING
R&D spending slowed for fourth year in a row

JAPAN R&D SPENDING
Dainippon, JSR, and Sumitomo have streaks of at least four years of increases

EMPLOYMENT

OVERALL U.S. EMPLOYMENT
U.S. chemical employment has declined for six straight years

U.S. CHEMICAL EMPLOYMENT
Employment at major companies contracted again

CANADA EMPLOYMENT
Total workforce at four companies dropped slightly in 2004

EUROPE EMPLOYMENT
Employment continued to fall at major European chemical firms

JAPAN EMPLOYMENT
Sumitomo, Shin-Etsu, and others resumed hiring

U.S. PRODUCTION WORKERS
Decline in plant workers in 2004 was lowest in five years

U.S. PAY
Hourly and weekly wages increased for all chemical sectors

U.S. PRODUCTIVITY
Overall chemical output per hour improved, as it has for more than a decade …
… while unit labor costs increased only slightly and are still below prerecession levels

PRODUCTION

U.S. PRODUCTION INDEX
Organic chemicals and synthetic materials rose faster than total manufacturing

ASIA PRODUCTION INDEX
The industry mostly grew, particularly in Taiwan

EUROPE PRODUCTION INDEX
Production growth picked up in most major producing countries

CANADA PRODUCTION INDEX
Chemicals outperformed other manufacturing sectors in 2004

U.S. ORGANICS
Ethylene dichloride and 1,3-butadiene increased more than 15%

CANADA ORGANICS
Major products such as ethylene, benzene, and urea rose sharply

EUROPE ORGANICS
Ethylene continued to be highest-volume product

CHINA ORGANICS
Methanol production maintained healthy growth

ASIA ORGANICS
Strong growth of petrochemicals in Taiwan, but Japan leveled off

U.S. INORGANICS
Hydrogen, hydrochloric acid, and chlorine had double-digit increases

CANADA INORGANICS
Growth in 2004 was stronger than usual, for the most part

EUROPE INORGANICS
Chlorine growth shows no sign of slowing

JAPAN INORGANICS
Hydrogen peroxide grew strongly, whereas chlorine continued to shrink

CHINA INORGANICS
Production of inorganic chemicals grew rapidly for another year

U.S. PLASTICS
Linear low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene led thermoplastic growth

CANADA PLASTICS
Polyethylene rebounded in 2004

EUROPE PLASTICS
Output of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene climbed steadily through 2003

ASIA PLASTICS
Production of most plastics grew in Japan, and Taiwan’s numbers illustrate the petrochemical industry's expansion on the island

U.S. PAINTS & COATINGS
Architectural coatings shipments have shown steady growth since 2001

U.S. SYNTHETIC FIBERS
Polyester output growth was strongest, followed by nylon and olefin

EUROPE SYNTHETIC FIBERS
Wider base confirmed continuing, but slow, growth in Europe

JAPAN SYNTHETIC FIBERS
Production of polypropylene fiber was the only bright spot

U.S. FERTILIZERS
Monoammonium phosphate and phosphate rock grew fastest

EUROPE FERTILIZERS
Ammonium nitrate production is rebounding

TRADE

U.S. TOTAL TRADE
Chemical industry was again number two among exporting sectors

U.S. CHEMICAL TRADE, BY COUNTRY
The U.S. enjoyed double-digit export increases with every world region

EUROPE CHEMICAL TRADE
Both exports and imports picked up in most countries

U.S. CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT
Boost in exports brought imports and exports even for the year

CANADA CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT
Exports boomed in 2004, exceeding a strong rise in imports

ASIA CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT
Trade in chemicals continued to surge in Japan and South Korea

CHINA CHEMICAL TRADE, BY PRODUCT
Deficit widened as import growth outpaced increase in exports

U.S. CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE, BY PRODUCT
Improvement in organic chemicals trade deficit helped bring overall balance near zero

CANADA CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE, BY PRODUCT
Total chemical trade balance shrank for the first time since 2000

EUROPE CHEMICAL TRADE BALANCE
Chemical trade balance weakened in all but Germany, the Netherlands, and France