Market Overview

Based on manufacturer shipment volumes including exports, the domestic polypropylene (PP) market totaled 2,000,700 tons in 2024, 93.2% of the previous year's total. 
The PP market experienced a three-year decline: In 2022, PP shipment volumes decreased due to deteriorating demand, primarily in the manufacturing industry, stemming from rising material costs and semiconductor component shortages. In 2023, consumer spending decreased due to rising commodity prices. In 2024, production and shipment suspensions caused by the Japanese automakers' quality fraud further reduced PP demand.

Noteworthy Topics

Sustainable PP Product Initiatives Are Gaining Momentum

Currently, very little sustainable PP (*1) is sold, and sales do not seem to differ among PP manufacturers. However, business operations and efforts regarding sustainable PP will differ among manufacturers depending on their strengths and weaknesses, as various options are available, including material recycling (MR), chemical recycling (CR), and bio-PP.
For instance, if choosing MR, PP manufacturers with brand design techniques, compound treatment technology, and technology to improve the quality of recycled materials, as well as a high-quality material procurement scheme and an alignment with a leading recycler will gain the upper hand.
Meanwhile, manufacturers that choose CR or bio-PP need to use a mass balance approach to receive credit. They must increase their visibility through branding to be chosen by consumers, because it will be difficult for them to differentiate themselves based on product quality and price.

PP manufacturers are starting to make themselves differ from others in their own ways: improving their visibility by launching sustainable brands or creating plastic recycling systems.  

*1) In this research, sustainable PP refers to bio-PP that uses material recycling (MR), chemical recycling (CR, or biomass materials.
*2) The mass balance model is one option for chain of custody. It is often used in chemical production processes that involve the mixing of input materials of different origins and characteristics, such as recycled materials and fossil feedstocks. The model enables manufacturers to keep track of certified materials mixed into products throughout manufacturing and conversion processes using bookkeeping. Manufacturers can claim the percentage of certified materials within the end products according to the input ratio of certified materials and how they allocate the ratio of fossil feedstocks.

Future Outlook

The domestic polypropylene (PP) market size is projected to reach 2,061,600 tons by 2025, 103.0% of the previous year’s total. This growth is primarily due to the industry's recovery from the impact of the Japanese automakers' quality fraud.
PP manufacturers are expected to promote high-performance, and high value added products in terms of product quality and safety. They will also leverage their technical service strengths to help client companies use PP products more effectively and distinguish them from overseas products.

Research Outline