Analysis and results

Zusammenfassung

The chemical industry comprises a multitude of segments with an estimated 70,000 different product lines: for example, paints and coatings, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, solvents, composites, plastics, synthetic fibers and rubbers, inks, photographic supplies, and many others. This plethora of different products is manufactured by more than 1,000 large and medium-sized companies, let alone countless small firms. Along with a total sales volume of about €1,476 billion (excluding pharmaceuticals) worldwide in 2005, the chemical industry is one of the largest, most complex, and most diversified industries at all. Due to the enormous diversity of products, the chemical industry supplies virtually into every other industry. Having its starting point in the petrochemicals sector, chemicals form the building blocks at every level of production and consumption in many industries. Therefore, only 25 percent of the chemical output goes directly to the consumer, which is the main reason for the industry’s relative invisibility. The chemical industry is further highly fragmented with the top ten chemical firms accounting for only 18 percent of the total market.