The Market Growth Trend of Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR)

Polybutadiene Rubber Market Overview

During the forecast period (2021-2026), the compound annual growth rate of the Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR) market is expected to exceed 4%.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the market has been negatively impacted. Several countries worldwide entered a lockdown state to contain the spread of the virus. Major tire manufacturers have closed factories due to the losses incurred in 2020. For instance, the world's largest tire manufacturer closed eight tire factories, including its main passenger car tire factory in Hikone, western Japan, and its main truck and bus tire manufacturing plant in Tenchō, southern Japan during April to May 2020. Therefore, the impact of COVID-19 is expected to have a negative influence on market growth.

In the short term, the growing demand in the transportation industry is expected to drive market growth.

On the other hand, long-term exposure risks and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to hinder market growth.

The tire manufacturing sector is expected to dominate the market due to consumption in the automotive and transportation sectors.

The Asia-Pacific region is projected to dominate the market and may also witness the highest compound annual growth rate during the forecast period.

Polybutadiene Rubber Market Key Trends

Increasing Tire Manufacturing Demand

Butadiene is used in the production of synthetic rubber material and elastomers, including polybutadiene rubber (PBR), SBR rubber products (SBR), nitrile rubber (NR), and chloroprene (Neoprene), all of which are used in the production of various goods and materials.

PBR is used in tire production. Polybutadiene is primarily used for manufacturing automotive tires. It is estimated that the tire manufacturing process consumes around 70% of the global polybutadiene production. It is primarily used as tire sidewalls to improve fatigue caused by continuous flexing during driving. Additionally, butadiene has various applications in other automotive parts.

Polybutadiene rubber (PBR) possesses the advantages of low rolling resistance and high wear resistance, thereby imparting longevity and low fuel consumption rates to tires.

Despite the encouraging growth in the automotive industry over the past decade, recent years have witnessed a slowdown in momentum. New car sales and production worldwide, including in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States, have been declining. This has impacted the automotive production growth that many countries experienced previously. Business models, markets, and competitive landscapes are undergoing changes, leading to a deceleration in the demand for polybutadiene rubber in tire manufacturing.

According to OICA data, global automotive production decreased by approximately 5.2% in 2019, reaching 91.78 million vehicles. Car sales in 2019 declined by over 3 million vehicles. In the first half of 2020, there was a substantial decline in global automotive production. Due to the impact of COVID-19, global automotive production, as per OICA data, was approximately 17.86 million vehicles in the first quarter, 31.133 million vehicles in the second quarter, and 52.009 million vehicles in the third quarter, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of about 23.1%, 32.4%, and 22.9%, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year.

In the first ten months of 2020, major global automotive markets such as Europe, the United States, Japan, Brazil, India, and China experienced year-on-year declines in car sales of 27.3%, 17%, 14.7%, 30.9%, 24.6%, and 10%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

However, with growing concerns about environmental pollution from gasoline and diesel vehicles, the production of electric vehicles is expected to accelerate in the coming five years.

Therefore, the increasing demand for electric vehicles in recent years and the anticipated shift of consumers toward electric cars may create opportunities for polybutadiene rubber (PBR) tires in the forecast period.

It is expected that all the aforementioned factors will impact the use of synthetic rubber raw materials in automotive applications.