PROPYLENE MARKET ANALYSIS

Regional Analysis

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North America has established itself as the dominant region in the global propylene market. The region is expected to account for 34.6% of the market share in 2024, owing to robust industrial presence and mature demand from well-established end-use industries. The U.S., in particular, accounts for the largest share of the regional propylene demand on the back of a booming petrochemical industry and strong consumption from major derivate industries like polypropylene, acrylonitrile, and propylene oxide. With annual capacity additions and expansions at propylene crackers on the Gulf Coast, North America has reliable supply infrastructure to cater to growing needs. Additionally, the regional market benefits from easy access to competitive feedstock supplies of propane, butane, and ethane produced alongside oil and gas extraction activities. This has supported healthy margins for North American propylene producers over the years. Regional players have also established long-term offtake agreements with major domestic consumers to secure downstream demand. However, North American players are increasingly facing competitive pressures from cheaper international exports, particularly from the Middle East. New propylene capacities coming online globally may gradually reduce North America’s overall dominance.

The Asia Pacific region has emerged as the fastest growing market for propylene globally over the past decade led by China and India. Robust industrial and infrastructure growth coupled with a steadily rising population has driven massive gains in key derivate industries that consume propylene such as polypropylene, cumene. Major capacity additions are ongoing to cater to this sustained domestic demand growth. Countries like China and India additionally benefit from abundant reserves of natural gas, which is an important feedstock for cost-competitive propylene production. Several players have announced capacity expansion projects along the coastlines to facilitate easy import and export logistics. Rapid urbanization and rising disposable incomes are also supporting the increased consumption of consumer goods and durable items that use propylene-based materials. The increasingly globally integrated nature of value chains across Asia Pacific has made the region an export and import hub in the global petrochemical trade flow. This positions Asia Pacific as an integral market for propylene producers and consumers worldwide going forward.