Industrial Rubber Market Report

The automobile industry is growing at a healthy rate, which is expected to continue. According to OICA global passenger sales in 2023 is 76.3 million, further investigation into the use of rubber in industries finds that the automobile industry alone consumes around 2/5 of total global rubber production. Tires, tubes, suspension rubber components, belts, fan belts, mountings, hoses, and other similar items are included. The automobile sector controls the rubber market, both directly and indirectly. Original equipment tyres and many other elastomeric parts installed on cars at the time of production, as well as replacement parts such as tyres and wiper blades, and, to a lesser extent, other parts, all have a direct impact on the market.

The market is growing due to demand from sectors including the automobile, consumer goods, and clothes and footwear, but it is up against strong competition from materials such as vinyl, polymers, and plastics. Plastics and polymers are often affordable since they are manufactured in vast numbers all over the globe. Additionally, polymers like PET, PP, and ABS are excellent options because to their improved properties including elasticity, stiffness, and slip, and durability. Plastic is the material of choice for items like pipes, seals, and tubes, which are mostly replacing rubber-based items in automotive and industrial uses. Another replacement material is vinyl, often known as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used in items like flooring, pipes, industrial gloves, door and window cladding, and pipes. Thus, it is anticipated that the availability of alternatives would limit market growth.

The elastomers and rubber market is going through a transformation owing to the factors like the growing demand for materials that are less hazardous to environment, technological development and growth of automotive as well as tire industries. Such trends have thus led to increased investments and expansion activities as depicted in the following trends: Polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber is planned to be produced in the Asahi Kasei’s Singapore plant from March 2022 with butadiene from its renewable sources. Moreover, Exxon Mobil’s Texas plant expansion of olefinic elastomers started in May 2022. The capacity of the project to produce is 400 KT per year. Moreover in April 2022, Kraton Corporation disclosed the plans to phase up alpha-methyl styrene resins production in Niort France. Currently, Kraton forecasts that it will attain a 15% increase in production by the year 2023.

Asia-Pacific is the major producer and consumer of natural rubber, with Thailand being the largest producer and China being the major consumer. Growth in the automotive and construction sectors is a major driver of this region's market. Due to expanding tyre manufacturing and construction activities in these nations, China, Japan, and India are significant countries contributing to regional market growth. North America is expected to be a prominent region in the market throughout the forecast period, owing to increased demand in automotive and footwear applications. Factors such as increased use in the chemical and textile industries, as well as technological advances, are also driving the market in North America. Europe's market is anticipated to grow rapidly. The rising demand for tyres in the automobile industry will help to the region's market growth. Other significant drivers driving market expansion in Europe include the adoption of non-tire automotive and industrial applications. Latin America and the Middle East and Africa would experience slower market value growth than the other areas due to reasons such as increased dependence on natural rubber imports, higher synthetic rubber costs, and lower tyre production.