Ch
Chemicals & Materials
Carbon fiber · catalysts · gases
66fragility index
42 records24 critical1st : China (36%)
View on the map →IF method →Read from surface (top) to matter (bottom). Hover a node to reveal what it depends on.
0Finished materials & applications8
●Carbon fibre, Toray (Japan)
Toray > 50% of the PAN fibre market; aerospace backbone (Boeing 787)
Critical node· Toray (Ehime / Tokyo)
●PGM catalytic converters, Johnson Matthey, Umicore
4 players > 70% of three-way catalysts; platinum, palladium, rhodium
Critical node· Johnson Matthey (London)
●Suzano & wood pulp, Brazil
Brazil ≈ 18.6 Mt of pulp exported in 2024, world's top exporter ; Suzano 13.5 Mt/yr, ≈ 1/3 of short-fibre pulp
Critical node· Suzano
■Softwood lumber, Canada
Canada ≈ 23.6 Mm³ of softwood lumber exported (Jan-Sep 2023), ≈ 90 % to the US ; Russia ≈ 15 Mm³
Critical node· Canfor
■Cement, China
≈1,900 Mt of cement in 2024, close to half the world total (≈4,100 Mt, USGS)
Critical node· China National Building Material (CNBM)
■Flat glass (float), China
China ~50%+ of global flat glass
Critical node· Xinyi Glass
●Paints & coatings (Sherwin, PPG, AkzoNobel)
Sherwin-Williams #1, PPG #2, AkzoNobel #3, Nippon Paint #4 (2024 revenue)
Dependency· Sherwin-Williams
●Adhesives & industrial glues, Henkel
Henkel #1 globally; 3M, Sika, H.B. Fuller among adhesive leaders
Dependency· Henkel
−IPolymers & advanced materials9
●PVDF & fluoropolymers, Arkema & Kureha
top 5 ≈63% of the market (2025); China ≈61% of consumption (battery binders)
Critical node· Arkema (Pierre-Bénite / Kings Mountain)
●Reverse-osmosis membranes (desalination)
Toray, DuPont (~20%), Nitto/Hydranautics, LG Chem: top 5 ~60% of RO market
Critical node· Toray
■Polyester & PTA, China
China ~70% of polyester fibre; ~50% of world PTA
Critical node· Hengli Petrochemical
■Polyolefins (PE + PP)
PE ~110 Mt + PP ~80-90 Mt ≈ 190-200 Mt/yr of polyolefins
Critical node· SABIC (Middle East)
●Silicones, Wacker, Dow, Shin-Etsu
market ≈6.2 Mt in 2024; China (Bluestar) the leading siloxane capacity block
Dependency· Wacker Chemie (Munich)
■Epoxy resins, China, Olin, Kukdo
≈4.1 Mt in 2024; Asia-Pacific ≈64% of demand, China in the lead
Dependency· Olin (Clayton)↑ Carbon fibre
■Glass fibre, China
China ~60% of world glass fiber (capacity)
Dependency· China Jushi
●Polycarbonate & engineering plastics
Covestro, SABIC, Mitsubishi and China dominate polycarbonate
Dependency· Covestro
■PVC, China (carbide route)
China ~45% of global PVC (calcium-carbide route)
Dependency· Xinjiang Zhongtai
−IIPigments, fillers & isocyanates6
●MDI/TDI isocyanates, Wanhua, BASF, Covestro
Top 5 ≈85–89% of MDI; Wanhua ≈1/3; world MDI capacity ≈10.4 Mt/yr
Critical node· Wanhua Chemical (Yantai)
●Titanium dioxide, Chemours & Lomon Billions
world capacity ≈9.9 Mt/year; China leading producer; Chemours ≈half of North America
Dependency· Chemours (Wilmington)
●Carbon black, Birla, Cabot, Orion
Asia-Pacific ≈60–65% of output (est.); Birla >2 Mt/yr across 17 sites
Dependency· Birla Carbon (Mumbai)↑ PVDF
■Textile dyes, China
China ~60% of world textile dye production
Dependency· Zhejiang Longsheng
●Technical ceramics, Kyocera & CoorsTek
Kyocera, NGK and CoorsTek among the leaders in technical ceramics
Dependency· Kyocera
●Flavours & fragrances, Givaudan & IFF
Givaudan, IFF, DSM-Firmenich, Symrise ~2/3 of the flavours/fragrances market
Dependency· Givaudan
−IIIIndustrial gases & process catalysts7
●Industrial gases, Air Liquide & Linde
oligopoly: Linde ≈27–30%, Air Liquide ≈22–24%, Air Products ≈12–15% of the world market
Critical node· Air Liquide (Paris)↑ Carbon fibre, MDI · TDI, TiO2
●Process catalysts, Grace, BASF, Topsoe
Grace + BASF ≈40% of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC); iron/ruthenium for Haber-Bosch
Critical node· W. R. Grace (Columbia)↑ Ethylene, MDI · TDI
●Bromine (Dead Sea, ICL)
≈735 kt/yr; top 4 >80% of capacity (2024)
Critical node· ICL Group
●Lubricant additives (Lubrizol, Infineum)
Lubrizol, Infineum, Chevron Oronite, Afton: ~85% of lubricant additives
Critical node· Lubrizol (Berkshire)
■Cerium & lanthanum, catalysis rare earths
China ≈dominates separation; export controls on rare earths extended 2023-2026
Dependency· China Northern Rare Earth (Baotou)↑ Catalysts, Autocatalysts
●Industrial enzymes (Novonesis, IFF)
Novonesis (Novozymes+Chr. Hansen) ~48%; IFF (ex-Danisco) ~20%
Dependency· Novonesis (Novozymes)
●Water-treatment chemistry (Ecolab, Kemira)
Ecolab leader (~6%), Kemira, Veolia: fragmented market (top 10 ~20%)
Dependency· Ecolab
−IVPetrochemicals & base electrochemistry8
▲Chlor-alkali, chlorine-caustic electrolysis
China ≈30 Mt of caustic soda in 2024; membrane cells ≈60% of production
Critical node· Olin (United States)↑ MDI · TDI, TiO2, Epoxy resins
▲Fluorspar & hydrofluoric acid, China
China ≈62% of world fluorspar (5.9 of 9.5 Mt, 2024); US 100% net importer
Critical node· Chinese producers (Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang)↑ PVDF, C4F6 (etch)
▲Natural rubber, Thailand
Thailand ≈36% of global natural rubber (≈4.85 Mt, 2024); Thailand+Indonesia+Vietnam ≈70%
Critical node· smallholders (southern Thailand)
▲White phosphorus (P4), China
China vast majority of elemental phosphorus P4 (>60%, often 70-85%)
Critical node· Yunnan & Guizhou producers
▲Methanol, China (coal)
China ~60% of global methanol output (coal-based)
Critical node· Chinese producers (Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi)
▲Ethylene crackers, Gulf Coast
ethane advantage ≈$200–300/t over naphtha; China +23 Mt of capacity by 2030
Dependency· ExxonMobil (Baytown)↑ Epoxy resins, Carbon black, PVDF
▲Sulphuric acid, the world's leading chemical
≈260 Mt/year produced; China ≈27 Mt (≈21%), most from refining sulphur
Dependency· Copper smelters (Tongling, Jinchang)↑ TiO2
▲Synthetic rubber (SBR, butyl)
China #1 producer of synthetic rubber (Sinopec is world's largest)
Dependency· Sinopec