The American Chemistry Council (ACC) reports that with continued recovery in the U.S. economy, U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rebounded by 1.9% in July, off from a strong revised 4.6% gain in June, a revised 0.1% decline in May, and a record 12.4% decline in April. Of the 28 specialty chemical segments that ACC monitors, 25 expanded in July, an improvement from the expansion in 24 segments in June and the decline across all segments in April. On a sequential basis, diffusion was 91% in July, an improvement from 89% in June and 0% in April. Of the 25 segments that showed growth in July, 17 featured gains of 1.0% or more.
During July, overall specialty chemicals volumes were down by 9.1% on a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, an improvement from the 11.7% decline the previous month. Volumes stood at 101.0% of their average 2012 levels in July. This is equivalent to 6.88 billion pounds (3.12 million metric tons). On a Y/Y basis, gains were seen in only three specialty chemical segments: cosmetic additives, electronic chemicals, and flavors and fragrances. On a Y/Y basis, diffusion was 11% in July, still much worse than at the start of the year.
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