PU industry creates strong economic impact with indirect job creation in the USA

In 2010, the industry created 37,700 jobs and indirectly supported nearly 165,000 additional jobs in companies that depend on polyurethanes, including transportation, building and construction, appliances, furniture and bedding. Overall, the polyurethanes industry operates in 935 locations in the USA, directly generating USD 19.7 billion in output, according to the CPI.

“While the polyurethanes industry has not yet returned to pre-recession levels, we are seeing positive developments in the sector overall,” said CPI Senior Director Lee Salamone. “At the recession’s lowest point, manufacturing output was off by 21 %. Although current output remains 5 % below its 2007 peak, that is a strong improvement from where the industry was a few years ago. This study confirms the feedback we received at the 2012 Polyurethanes Technical Conference in September – the industry is moving in the right direction.”

Key statistics about the polyurethanes industry from 2008 – 2010:

The top end-use markets for polyurethane consumption (in descending order) are building and construction, transportation, and furniture and bedding.

The polyurethanes industry operates in 935 locations in the USA, directly generating USD 19.7 billion in output and 37,700 jobs.

Indirectly, the polyurethanes industry supports an additional USD 40.1 billion in output and supports nearly 165,000 additional jobs.

In total, the polyurethanes industry supports about 202,600 jobs and USD 59.9 billion in output.

In addition, polyurethane products are used in industries generating USD 245.5 billion in output and employing nearly one million workers.

About the study

This analysis, conducted by the Economics & Statistics department of the American Chemistry Council, builds upon the “2010 End-Use Market Survey on the Polyurethanes Industry” and summarises the importance of the polyurethanes industry to the US economy. It presents both the economic value created by its production activities and the value of the industries that use its products in the production of their output. This report focuses on diisocyanates and associated polyols. The research was conducted during September 2012 using 2010 end-use consumption patterns, which were the latest available at the time.