World Analysis – Paraxylene

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

Paraxylene is a key intermediate raw material necessary to produce polyester fibers and PET resins. Polyester products are used in a wide variety of popular consumer applications such as PET bottles, food packaging, clothing, carpeting and home furnishings. Polyester competes with other man-made materials such as polypropylene, nylon and polystyrene as well as natural products such as viscose, wool, silk and cotton. However, polyester is well positioned in end use applications compared to competing materials due to its relatively low cost, uniformity, adaptability and ease of use, and its share of the global market has been increasing at the expense of alternative products. 

Paraxylene can be made via a number of different processes, the first involving the use of mixed xylenes as the feedstock. Alternative paraxylene production processes include using toluene as the initial feedstock and conversion either by toluene transalkylation (TA) or toluene disproportionation (TDP) technologies. In these processes, benzene represents a greater portion of the yield, which can influence the economics of paraxylene production. The transalkylation and disproportionation processes are valuable in maximizing paraxylene production when toluene and mixed xylenes cannot be blended into the gasoline pool. Manufacturing costs for paraxylene vary around the world, but the direct mixed xylenes–to–paraxylene route is less capital intensive than using toluene as an initial feedstock.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

Overview

• Maximize negotiating leverage with forward-looking country-specific supply-demand data.
• Develop a winning strategy based on growth projections of market segments worldwide.
• Gain clarity evaluating investment opportunities and analyzing market leadership out to 2050.
• Mitigate risk with data about emerging international trade flows.

Data Included

The World Analysis – Paraxylene provides a comprehensive analysis and key insights of critical market developments as they shape the future outlook for the global paraxylene market.

The following reports, data files, analytical tools and visualization modules are available online and can be downloaded from the Connect website:

• Report outlining key strategic insights and the future shape of global and regional markets.
• Data Appendix (Excel) with supply/demand and capacity tables
• Explanatory Notes detailing data sources, methodologies, unit and conversion factors, and World Analysis deliverables.
• Energy and Economy assumptions
• Price, cost and margin base assumptions forecast and sensitivities analysis, and price assessment methodology.
• Excel data files with standard supply/demand graphics, trade grids, and price forecasts
• Online dashboard providing visualization of capacity, supply/demand and price, cost and margin forecasts.
• Supply/demand, capacity and price/economics database access via data browser (from 1990 to 2050)
• Capacity by company/shareholder, capacity integration, top producer/consumer and surplus/deficit capacity ranking

This World Analysis contains detailed information on capacities, production, demand and trade for all significant producing and consuming countries and regions. Although data gathering is essential for the understanding of history and potential future trends, we believe that the interpretation and analysis of the data is the most valuable part for our clients.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050