Polycarbonate (PC) is a lightweight, high-performance thermoplastic polymer that possesses a unique balance of excellent electrical resistance, dimensional stability, optical clarity, high heat resistance, and toughness. Due to its versatile properties, the applications for PC are many and its consumption is very high. Because of its high consumption, PC is often positioned between engineering plastics and commodity plastics. PC is most often synthesized from bisphenol A and phosgene by a step-growth polymerization process, which is also known as condensation process. Another process to develop PC is the melt process, which is a non-phosgene process and uses CO2 as the starting material. Some of the major applications for PC include electrical & electronics, optical media, consumer, and automotive. China is the country with most consumption of PC, globally.

The major drivers contributing towards the growth of the PC market are:

Growing demand for Blu-Ray discs

Growing demand from the automotive industry

About the Market

The Global Polycarbonate Resin Market is expected to grow at a good pace during the forecasted period. The market is mainly driven by the increased consumption of PC in the automotive industry.

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for PC, and this region had accounted for 61.1% of the global PC market demand in 2014. The shift of various end-use industries of PC from western regions to the Asia-Pacific due to low labor cost, easy availability of raw materials, and lack of stringent regulations are the major factors driving the growth of PC market in Asia-Pacific. Western Europe is the second-largest market for PC, followed by North America.

This study estimates the global Polycarbonate Resin Market for 2015 and projects the expected demand of the same by 2020. This market research study provides a detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of the global Polycarbonate Resin market. It also includes a comprehensive review of the major market drivers, restraints, opportunities, winning imperatives, challenges, and key issues in the market. The market is further segmented and forecast based on the major regions, which are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World (RoW). Various secondary sources such as encyclopedia, directories, and databases have been used to identify and collect information for this extensive commercial study of the PC market. The primary sources, which are experts from relevant industries and suppliers, have been interviewed to obtain and verify critical information as well as to assess the future prospects of this market.

Competitive scenario of the top players in the PC market has been discussed in detail. The top players of the industry are profiled in detail with their recent developments and other strategic industry activities. These include SABIC Innovative Plastics (U.S.), Bayer MaterialScience AG (Germany), Teijin Ltd. (Japan), Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation (Japan), Chi Mei Corporation (China), and others.

Scope of the Report

This research report categorizes the global PC market on the basis of application and region along with forecasting market size in terms of value as well as volume, and analyzing trends in each of the regions.

On the Basis of Applications

The PC market is further segmented into sub-categories:

Electrical & Electronics

Optical Media

Consumer

Automotive

Sheets

Films

Packaging

Medical

Others

On the Basis of Region

The global PC market is segmented into four regions, which are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, North America, and the RoW.

The PC Market is projected reach 4,997.12 KT by 2020, at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2015 and 2020.

Polycarbonate is an important thermoplastic in various end-use industries due to which its consumption is high and it is often positioned between commodity and engineering plastics. The growing demand from the PC in the automotive industry, where it is used to manufacture various components, glazing, and in window applications, is one of the key drivers of the PC market, globally. PC is also an important material in manufacturing optical storages, such as compact discs, Blu-Ray discs, and others. A major restraint faced by the PC market is the detection of bisphenol-A (BPA) in food packaging materials made from PC. Due to this, the use of PC in production of baby bottles is banned. Various concerns are being raised regarding the usage of PC in other packaging materials and medical applications. This hampers the growth in the PC market.

The current Polycarbonate Resin Market is flooded with overcapacities. This is one of the major challenges faced by PC manufacturers. Due to the overcapacity in this market, the market players are forced to decrease their operating margins leading to reduced profits. This has resulted in the shutting down of a couple of PC manufacturing plants in the last few years. But with the increasing plant operating margins and the growing demand for PC in automotive industry, the market players are expecting their margins to be stabilized.

Asia-Pacific and Western Europe are the top two consumers of PC in the world. China and the U.S. are the key countries in Asia-Pacific and North America, respectively, growing at CAGRs of 5.0% and 3.2% between 2015 and 2020. The developing countries, such as India, Mexico, and Brazil are also growing at a rapid pace due to the rising domestic demand.

Key participants in the global Polycarbonate Resin include SABIC Innovative Plastics (U.S.), Bayer MaterialScience AG (Germany), Teijin Ltd. (Japan), Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation (Japan), and Chi Mei Corporation (China).