Market highlights

In 2005, the total market for flame retardants in the United States, Europe and Asia was about 1.5 million metric tons and was valued at about 2.9 billion USD (see table 1). In 2008 this market had expanded to about 1.8 billion metric tons at about 4.2 billion USD. The market of FR is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 3.7% in the next five years.

^{(source: Stefan Posner, SWEREA IVF/AB in Assessmnt of the Consumption of HBCDD in EPS and XPS in conjunction with national fire requirements, page 7)}

Brominated flame retardants account for about 23% of the world market, which may be regarded as a significant proportion of total world production of flame retardants. TBBPA and decaBDE are the most common brominated flame retardants on the global market, followed by HBCDD which is the third most used brominated flame retardant worldwide - with a global market demand of 21,000 metric tons in 2008. In Europe the corresponding consumption of HBCDD is estimated to 11,000 metric tons in 2008.

^{(source: Stefan Posner, SWEREA IVF/AB in Assessmnt of the Consumption of HBCDD in EPS and XPS in conjunction with national fire requirements, page 8-9)}

The differences between the different regions’ flame retardant consumption in volume are shown in figure 1. There are several reasons behind the regional differences. Asia (Japan, China and Other Asia) has the biggest demand for flame retardants. Besides the expected growth rate of flame retardants, sales are also expected to be the highest in Asia (excluding Japan) with about 6-7% compared to other regions. The growth in this region is due to the transfer to production (electronic manufacturing) to these areas, especially to China, Thailand and Malaysia. So far, due to the lack of strong regulation on FRs, almost half of Asia’s flame retardant consumption still mainly consists of brominated flame retardants.

^{(source: Stefan Posner, SWEREA IVF/AB in Assessmnt of the Consumption of HBCDD in EPS and XPS in conjunction with national fire requirements, page 9)}

In the United States the current economic uncertainties are reflected on the flame retardant market, which is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2-3% through 2012. The major driving force for the US flame retardant business is the existence of government regulations; in addition, industry segments such as electronics have been self-regulating. USA is aware of existing and pending international regulations and wishes to use FR systems that will be accepted worldwide.

^{(source: Stefan Posner, SWEREA IVF/AB in Assessmnt of the Consumption of HBCDD in EPS and XPS in conjunction with national fire requirements, page 9)}