Demand from the Automotive Industry Drives Continuous Growth of Global NBR Market

According to a newly released research report by the market research firm Global Industry Analysts, nitrile rubber (NBR) finds ubiquitous uses in a wide variety of areas, from automotive, aerospace, to industrial products and consumer products. The demand for nitrile rubber is closely related to the growth of GDP. Strong GDP growth is a reflection of the growth in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, which has generally driven the demand for synthetic rubber. This is mainly because synthetic rubber constitutes a major source of raw materials for many rubber products. Although developed countries have experienced slower demand due to increased competitive pressures and weak domestic demand, developing countries led by the “BRIC countries” will accelerate growth in the coming years.

In recent years, the nitrile rubber industry temporarily stagnated due to the deteriorating economic environment, but the industry undoubtedly has enormous potential for growth. In the next few years, the consumption of nitrile rubber in auto parts will increase at any time. Especially in developing countries, demand is expected to increase as automakers continue to roll out full-line production processes and gradually increase outsourcing to low-cost countries in order to free up investment capital. For example, global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 auto parts suppliers are increasingly outsourcing automotive parts and components to effectively cope with rising production costs and slump in sales. Over the past few years, the increasing outsourcing trend of original equipment manufacturers and tier one suppliers has accelerated the export of auto parts in developing countries. It is estimated that by 2015, auto parts manufacturers in low-cost countries will account for more than 40% of the global auto parts market share.

In developing countries such as China, the development of transportation equipment, road construction, and the automotive industry is healthier in the long run, which inevitably pushes for the demand for seals, gaskets, and other nitrile rubber products. In the medical industry, nitrile rubber is becoming more and more popular as the preferred material for the manufacture of medical gloves, because nitrile gloves are comparable in puncture resistance to gloves made of natural rubber. Latex may make allergies and side effects that cause post-operative complications in patients have been established, which creates a favorable opportunity for the manufacture of powder-free surgical gloves from nitrile rubber. Recently, the shortage of production raw materials such as ethylene and the decline in the role of latex have helped stimulate the demand for nitrile rubber from the end-use sector. Until now, latex has been the main material used to make medical gloves.

Malaysia is one of the major producers of latex gloves and nitrile gloves, and is considered to be the world’s largest producer and exporter of nitrile gloves. Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Europe, Latin America and Asia have become major consumers of synthetic rubber. China, Japan and the United States continue to be the world's leading rubber consumer countries. In particular, China has become the center of the growth of rubber consumption in the world due to the strong growth of domestic industrial products and automobile production. In other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, due to the healthy economic growth, the production of automobiles has been increasing, and more and more tire manufacturing plants are expected to see significant growth in rubber consumption. The latest research report pointed out that the Asia Pacific region is the world’s largest and fastest growing market. Driven by the growth of China, India, Malaysia and other fast-growing markets, Asia is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% until 2017. China is one of the largest nitrile rubber markets in the world. The positive development of its road system and transportation sector is the main factor driving the overall market growth.