The Global Soda Ash Market is Projected to Reach Nearly 85 Million Metric Tons by 2024

Steady Demand for Glass from the Construction and Automotive Sectors to Drive the Global Soda Ash Market, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry segments, trends, growth drivers, market share, size and demand forecasts on the global Soda Ash market. The global Soda Ash market is projected to reach nearly 85 million metric tons by 2024, driven by the steady demand for glass from the construction and automotive sectors.

Soda Ash or Sodium Carbonate is one of the most widely used minerals in the world and is the major raw material for the manufacture of glass. As such, the industry’s fortunes are mainly tied to the health of the glass manufacturing industry, which in turn is driven by the fortunes of the construction and automotive sectors. Soda Ash is manufactured through both synthetic as well as natural processes. The synthetic process primarily consists of the Solvay process and uses limestone, salt, ammonia and coke as raw materials. Some Chinese manufacturers also use the indigenously developed Hou process. The natural process involves processing naturally found trona ore into soda ash. China dominates the production of synthetic soda ash while the U.S. is the leading producer of soda ash from trona. However, Turkey is fast emerging as a major competitor for naturally produced soda ash.

In terms of global supply, the U.S. exports more than half of its annual 12 million metric tons of production, and is the largest exporter in the world. Chinese production, on the other hand, is being limited by the government’s environmental cleanup efforts. Even though China is the largest producer of soda ash, most of the production in China is destined for the domestic market. However, the excess still accounts for a substantial quantity, and China is the second largest exporter of soda ash. However, new capacity from natural sources in Turkey threatens to disturb the status quo, and the country is primed to emerge as the second largest exporter. While Chinese soda ash, produced synthetically, is expensive; the US is plagued by high transportation costs, which includes land based as well as ocean freight. In this scenario, Turkish exports are forecast to bag a substantial share owing to the low cost of production as well as the low cost of transportation. The shorter distances to key importing markets such as Europe, and South America make Turkish soda ash cheaper for importers.

The construction sector is one of the major end-users of glass. Recovery in the construction industry in the US, coupled with steady gains in construction spending in developing countries is expected to drive the demand for soda ash in the next few years. Glass is also one of the major input materials in automobiles. From windscreens to windows, glass is a prerequisite for automobiles. In addition to the traditional applications of glass in automobiles, new applications such as display screens for infotainment systems also extensively use glass. Stable automobile production is expected to provide a healthy market for glass and in turn soda ash. The automobile industry has been witnessing record production driven growth in emerging markets as well as revival of production in developed markets. With both construction and automotive sectors expected to witness steady growth in future, demand for glass, and in turn soda ash is also expected to rise.

As stated by the new market research report on Soda Ash, Asia-Pacific region represents the largest regional market worldwide, followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific region is also forecast to witness the fastest growth among all regions, with a CAGR of 6.1% over the analysis period. China is by far the largest market globally, owing to the huge construction and automotive industries in the country. On the other hand, India is fast emerging as one of the major growth drivers for soda ash. Emerging from recent economic turmoil, Latin America also presents healthy growth opportunities. Within developed markets, glass demand and in turn soda ash demand is expected to arise mostly from refurbishment activity in the construction sector, and replacement demand for automotives.  By end-use, Glass represents the dominant sector, followed by Chemicals, and Soap & Detergent industries. The glass industry is also expected to offer the best growth opportunities.

Major players in the market include Solvay, Tata Chemicals, and Genesis Energy. Key players profiled in the report include Ciech S.A., Ciner Group, Ciner Resources Corporation, Dahua Group Dalian Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., DCW Ltd., Genesis Energy, L.P., GHCL Limited, SC GHCL UPSOM Romania S.A., ICI Pakistan Limited, Lianyungang Soda Plant, Nirma Limited, Searles Valley Minerals, OJSC Bashkir Soda Company, Shandong Haihua Group Co., Ltd., Soda Sanayii A.S., Solvay S.A., TangShan SanYou Group Co., Ltd., Tata Chemicals Limited, Tata Chemicals North America Inc., Tata Chemicals (Soda Ash) Partners, Tata Chemicals Europe Limited, and Tianjin Soda Plant among others.

The research report titled "Soda Ash: A Global Strategic Business Report" announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, growth drivers, innovations and launches, and strategic industry activities of major companies worldwide. The report provides market estimates and projections in US$ as well as Metric Tons for Soda Ash for all major geographic markets including the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Rest of Middle East & Africa), and Latin America (Brazil, and Rest of Latin America).

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