The future of the chemical industries
As Lincoln, we first must ask where we are before we ask whither. I'd therefore like to define where our industry is and how it got there before we look at the challenges facing us. If we view the chemical and petroleum industries through the glass of macroeconomics, they look very healthy. Let's start with size. Table 1 shows that these two industries each provide about 10% of the total U.S. manufacturing output. This paper shows the fraction of the total GNP contributed by the chemical industry and by the petroleum industry and compares them with total manufacturing. The authors note that total manufacturing grew more slowly than the total GNP, whereas over the last 40 years, the chemical industry grew close to the rate of the GNP. For a large industry, this is the best we can hope for. The chemical industry is one of the very few major industries that has consistently maintained a positive trade balance.
- OSTI ID:
- 7296563
- Journal Information:
- CHEMTECH; (United States), Vol. 21:1; ISSN 0009-2703
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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