The chemical industry
refers to an industry involved in the production of chemicals. The
industry includes petrochemicals, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals,
polymers, paints, and oleochemicals. Chemical processes are used,
including chemical reactions to form new substances, separations
based on properties such as solubility or ionic charge, and distillations,
in addition to transformations by heating and other methods. Chemical
industry sales and profitability tend to follow the U.S. consumer
economy, with peak sales and profits a few years after strong consumer
economic growth periods and low points during recessions. While
demand growth for the overall chemical industry has slowed since
the 1960s, it is still better than annual gross domestic product
(GDP) gains. Operating margins were about 6 percent in 2000 compared
with a peak of almost 11 percent in 1995. Research and development
and capital spending by the industry are about $30 billion each,
or just under 7 percent of sales. The fastest growth areas are life
sciences, specialties such as electronic chemicals, and select plastics.
The overall employment level of the chemical and allied industries
is over 1 million people, with about 600,000 in direct manufacturing.
Most of the chemical industry's basic manufacturing plants are located
in the Gulf Coast due to the proximity of key energy raw materials.
Finished product manufacture, by contrast, is located closer to
population centers on the East and West Coasts and in the Midwest. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
