RUBBER INDUSTRIES

The rubber industry is a broad collection of synthetic rubber compound manufacturers deriving rubber from petroleum, as well as natural rubber production. As of 2005, almost 21 million tons of rubber was produced worldwide and almost half of this was natural rubber. Forecasts in 2011 estimated that the global rubber market for synthetic chloroprene, one of the most widely used varieties of the material, would rise to 445,300 metric tons by the year 2017

Rubber production is big business because of the extremely wide range of applications for the substance in its many forms. Chloroprene rubber is used in a variety of automotive and electrical parts, adhesives, and more. It is also used in automotive tires, and increasing production capacity of both Asian and Latin American manufacturers of this core product are fueling its growth.Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds are growing to dominance in the rubber industry as well, and replacing more traditional synthetic chloroprene products due to lower production costs and a wider range of uses. TPE is made into products for industries as diverse as construction, aerospace, and forestry.