Growing Commercial Sector to Spur Propane Demand

10 November 2020: The propane market is expected to witness substantial growth due to rising demand in automobile and petrochemical industry. Propane is a flammable hydrocarbon that is liquefied through extensively used pressurization techniques and used in cooking, heating rooms, food, and also as a fuel in vehicles. It is also used for aerosol propellants, refrigerants, and petrochemical feedstock.

Propane is separated from petroleum refining and unprocessed natural gas using refrigeration. It can also be produced from heating crude oil using a distillation tower. Propane can be compressed and stored as liquid in various vessels such as BBQ gas bottles, large gas cylinders, and LPG storage tanks. 

Demand in Industrial Sector to Boost Propane Growth

Based on end use, the product can be segmented into industrial, commercial, residential, transportation, and agriculture. Industrial segment emerged as a leading end-use segment in 2016 and is expected to maintain its dominance over the forecast period due to increasing industrial applications.

Clean burning characteristics of propane gas make it ideal in applications such as preheating, cutting and brazing, soldering, heat treatment, and shrink wrapping. In petrochemical industry, it is used to calibrate process control analyzers in mixtures. 

Various other applications of the product include testing of engines and gas burners, atmospheres in metallurgy, calibration of gas mixtures, and production of different chemicals. The commercial end use segment is the second largest segment in terms of revenue owing to high consumption of food in restaurants and hotels.

Market Insights

Propane is used as an intermediate product in the production of propylene and ethylene. Rising demand for higher efficiency fuels in automotive industry and applications in other industries are responsible for driving the growth of the market. The product is also used widely in agriculture, commercial, and residential sectors that has led to various regulations and actions concerning safety. For being highly competitive, application development and customized end-uses are expected to be the key parameters.

In order to gain market share major leading companies are resorting to various strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, and capacity expansions in an attempt to diversify the end-use portfolio. The propane market is highly competitive in nature and some of the leading key players in the market are BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell, and Sinopec.

New Products Offerings in Industrial and Commercial LED Lighting to Spur its Growth

18 June 2020: The LED lighting technology offers high brightness and efficiency, has long lifespan, and high reliability than incandescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), and fluorescent lights. LED lights decrease the maintenance and operating costs and are also considered as environment-friendly lighting since they do not release harmful gases. LEDs release very less heat compared to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and incandescent bulbs. 

The industrial and commercial LED lighting retains high potential and rising demand for this LED lighting, mainly in emerging economies, is boosting its demand. Furthermore, companies in industrial and commercial LED lighting are accepting several innovative techniques to offer customers innovative and advanced product offerings.

Reducing Size of Traditional Lighting in Terms of Revenue and Units 

The major application variants of the industrial and commercial LED lighting market include architectural, outdoor, commercial, and industrial. Commercial lighting market estimated to account for more than half of the overall industry in 2014. Commercial application segment further includes hospitality, retail, buildings, education, warehouse storage, and office applications. The sector has observed high acceptance as a substitute to HID, incandescent, and fluorescent lighting.

The architectural application segment includes statues, illumination of building structures, landscapes and columns, digital signage, and other decorative features. Reducing the size of traditional lighting in terms of both revenue and units, and faster cost dropping of LED lights has inferences for its saturation in several application areas. 

The industrial sector is anticipated to be slow growing as compared to other counterparts on account of extensively used fluorescent technologies and high-intensity discharge (HID) with high performance. 

Furthermore, the outdoor application segment includes airport, industrial warehouse, government and healthcare corporate campus, municipal, and other non-public outdoor areas. Its demand can be affected by public rule interventions and municipality. 

Increasing demand for high resolution 10 mm billboards and signs, which are perfect for high-volume ordinary traffic sectors, and customizable content are expected to transform the outdoor display industrial and commercial LED lighting over the forecast period. 

Market Insights: 

The companies are focusing on improving technology by the growth of cost-efficient products with enhanced performance. Technology innovation, product development, and production optimization are crucial for industry participants to uphold a competitive edge. Leading players operating in the industrial and commercial LED lighting market include Philips Electronics; GE Lighting; Toshiba Corporation; Osram Opto; and Cree Inc.

Lubricant Additives to Improve Manufacturing Processes

21 May 2020: Lubricant additives are inorganic or organic compounds suspended or dissolved as solids in oil. They characteristically range between 0.1 to 30 percent of the oil volume, depending on the machine. Lubricant additives market is characterized by growing additive usage in base oil blending for prolonged service life and performance. These lubricant additives improve the viscosity of the oil, act as corrosion inhibitors and antioxidants in combustion engines, and decreases oil decomposition. From increasing regulatory pressure to improving the fuel efficiency of vehicles and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, there has been a vast growth in lubricating oil formulations.

Additives play a major role in base oil blending and formulations as they are critical materials in improving performance of oils. The stated trend has had an enormous influence on the lubricant additive’s development in the recent years and is anticipated to continue driving the global market in the years to come. 

Passenger Car Motor Oil Sector Dominates the Market

The major application variants of the lubricant additives industry include automotive lubricants (passenger car motor oil, and heavy-duty motor oil), and industrial lubricants (metalworking fluids, industrial engine oil, and general industrial oil). In terms of volume, the passenger car motor oil sector will dominate the lubricant additives industry over the forthcoming period. EURO norms, controlling the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, soot, and hydrocarbons, along with a shift in consumer preference toward using operationally low and efficient fuel will drive the need for passenger car motor oil in the future.

In industrial lubricants sector, general industrial oil sub-segment is estimated to be the fastest growing sector in the forthcoming period. The inclination of manufacturing services to low-priced Asian markets is no longer attractive on account of decreasing price affordability of producers in the region.

Also, these manufacturers are modernizing and improving the manufacturing procedures to become competitive around the world. This is anticipated to influence market dynamics in terms of quality and volume of lubricants consumed. 

Market Insights: 

Key companies are mainly accepting expansion strategies and launch of new and better-quality products to gain market share. These quality products are vital for the saturation since the need for high-grade lubricants is increasing in the market.

Leading players operating in the lubricant additives market include Chemtura Corp., BASF SE, Croda International, Chevron Oronite, Evonik Industries, Lubrizol Corp, Infineum International, Tianhe Chemicals, and Shamrock.