According to statistics released recently by the International Rubber Research Organization (IRSG), in recent years, the global rubber consumption has continued to grow steadily. In 2017, the global rubber consumption amounted to 28.377 million tons, an increase of 3.0% over the same period of the previous year.
Among them, China’s rubber consumption accounted for 30% of the total, ranking first in the global rubber consumption for three consecutive years. The consumption of rubber in emerging Asian countries such as India, Thailand, and Vietnam also showed steady growth, which together with China has driven the growth of global rubber consumption.
Statistics show that the consumption of rubber in China was 9.432 million tons, an increase of 2.9%. After the increase of 3.0% in 2016 from the previous year, it continued to grow steadily and exceeded its year-on-year performance for two consecutive years. According to reports, the production of cars and commercial vehicles in China’s domestic auto industry has been developing steadily, which has boosted the growth of rubber consumption.
The second largest US rubber consumption was 2.843 million tons, which was basically the same. In 2013, the rubber consumption in the United States fell to 2.6 million tons, but it started to rebound after 2014, reflecting the recovery of the US economy.
The third largest Indian rubber consumption was 1.679 million tons, an increase of 3.5%. In recent years, the size of the automobile market in India has dramatically expanded and new vehicle sales are expected to surpass Japan by 2020. India’s economic development has performed well in emerging countries, and rubber consumption has continued to increase accordingly.
The fourth-ranked Japanese rubber consumption was 1.556 million tons, a slight increase of 0.8%. In recent years, Japan’s rubber consumption has continued to decrease. However, in 2017, the market demand for vehicle tires, rubber hoses for automobiles, high-pressure rubber hoses for construction machinery and machine tools exceeded the year-over-year performance for the first time after several years. However, it is still difficult to predict whether Japan’s domestic rubber consumption will increase significantly.
The fifth-ranked rubber consumption in Thailand was 1.275 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. As a global production base in Asia, Thailand is accelerating the development of vehicle manufacturers and parts manufacturers. In relation to this, Thailand’s rubber consumption is expected to continue to expand.
Accordingly, in the top five countries, the proportion of rubber consumption in global rubber consumption is about 60%.
In addition, among the top 15 countries in terms of rubber consumption, the highest growth rate was in Vietnam ranked 12th in 2016, with an increase of 20.5% in 2017. Reported that Vietnam, with its cheap labor force, has attracted Japanese and South Korean electronics equipment manufacturers to invest and set up factories. Vietnam is attracting attention as a new production base for ASEAN. The increase in rubber consumption in the future is also expected.
Among the Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia’s rubber consumption ranks sixth with 971,100 tons, which represents a year-on-year increase of 5.7%; Malaysia ranks eighth with 890,300 tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, and its growth in rubber consumption is mainly driven by automobiles and motorcycles. Pulling the demand for vehicle manufacturing and automotive tires.
Source: Global Rubber Markets