Production and Consumption of SBR Keep Growing in China   

1. Overview

According to statistics, in 2010 the global production capacity of SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) was about 5.73 million t/a, of which the capacity of ESBR (emulsion-polymerized SBR) was about 4.25 million t/a, accounting for 76.2% of the total; and SSBR (solution-polymerized SBR) about 1.33 million t/a, accounting for 23.8% of the total (see Table 1). As the downstream demand for SBR grows rapidly, SBR capacity expansion is very active worldwide. It is expected that by 2015, the global SBR capacity will reach 6.5 million t/a. The Asia-Pacific region, North America and Western Europe will remain the world's leading producing regions of SBR.

Table 1  Major SBR producers in the world in 2010
Producer    Capacity (kt/a)
China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group)    432
Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co.    385
LANXESS    369
Goodyear    363
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)    397
International Specialty Products (ISP)    272
Japan Synthetic Rubber Co. (JSR)    260
TSRC Corp.    219
Dow Chemical    212
ENI Chemical    210
Bridgestone Corp.    205
Japan Zeon Co Ltd    185
Sibneft    150
DESC    145
Kauchuk    140
Others    1786
Total    5730

2.  Production of SBR keeps growing in China

By the end of 2010, China's total production capacity of SBR was close to 1.1 million t/a, up 3.7% year on year, including ESBR 960 000 t/a and SSBR 150 000 t/a (see Table 2); and China's SBR output was about 860 000 tons, up 6.1%.
   The 2008 global financial crisis has disturbed the global rubber industry. In recent years, the production and consumption of SBR in many developed countries have dropped significantly; but China's SBR market has kept growing. In 2009, China's SBR producers were generally in good operational conditions. In 2010, the country's SBR capacity continued to increase, mainly due to the capacity expansion of SBR facilities at Hangzhou Zhechen Rubber Co Ltd and Tianjin Lugang Petroleum Rubber Co Ltd.

Table 2 Capacity of SBR manufacturers in China in recent years    (kt/a)
Producer    Product    2008    2009    2010
Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Co.    ESBR    150    250    250
PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Co.    ESBR    150    150    150
PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Co.    ESBR    155    155    155
Nantong Shenhua Chemical Industrial Co Ltd    ESBR    200    200    200
Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co.    SSBR    55    55    55
YPC-GPRO (Nanjing) Rubber Co Ltd    ESBR    100    100    100
Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co Ltd    ESBR    50    50    50
PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Co Ltd    SSBR    -    100    100
Hangzhou Zhechen Rubber Co Ltd    SSBR    -    -    50
Total        860    1060    1100
Note: PetroChina is a listed company of CNPC.

3. Consumption of SBR increases in China

In 2010, China's apparent consumption of SBR reached 1.1572 million tons. Data in Table 3 show that in recent years, the import of SBR in China had been increasing, and its export and apparent consumption had also been growing.
   In China, SBR is mainly used for the production of tires, rubber shoes, rubber tubes & tapes and cycle tires, of which tires and rubber shoes account for more than 70% of the total consumption.
         
Table 3 Apparent Consumption of SBR in China in 2006-2010       (kt)
Year    Output    Import    Export    Apparent consumption
2006    523    137    15    645
2007    702    174    15    861
2008    760    264    25    1000
2009    811    356    44    1123
2010    860    408    111    1157
Note: apparent consumption = output + import - export