US Specialty Gases Market

US Specialty Gases Market

US demand to grow 3.6% annually through 2013

Demand for specialty gases in the US is forecast to expand 3.6 percent per annum through 2013 to $3.4 billion. High purity atmospheric gases and noble gases will lead demand growth, which will be driven primarily by gains in manufacturing and health care. Additionally, growth will be driven by new or emerging applications in areas such as food & beverage processing and packaging, medical research and applications, analytical instrumentation, and others. The electronics industry, an important specialty gas market, will remain so, though its growth prospects have been severely reduced. High purity atmospheric gases, noble gases and carbon gases will continue to dominate and account for two thirds of specialty gas demand in 2013.

Health care applications will grow most rapidly

The health care industry is a large user of specialty gases. Atmospheric gases, mostly oxygen, will comprise nearly half of this market in 2013. Oxygen for institutional and home respiratory therapies will lead growth, though this will be limited by increased use of portable generators or concentrators. Other important medical applications for specialty gases include sterilization, analytical and laboratory uses, operation of imaging equipment and anaesthesia. Aside from oxygen, the key gases used by the medical community include helium, nitrous oxide, ethylene oxide and others. The aging population will fuel moderate growth in institutional specialty gas demand, more rapid growth in home health therapies.

Manufacturing market to remain dominant

Manufacturing activity (excluding electronics) in the US will continue to dominate the market for specialty gases and account for 44 percent of demand in 2013. The chemicals industry is the largest manufacturing market for specialty gases. Lighting and laser markets for specialty gases will continue to grow, but will be constrained by the emergence of LEDs and diode lasers. Niche applications for specialty gases are numerous across the entire manufacturing spectrum and new applications and technologies will contribute to underlying demand in the future.

Photovoltaics to support a sagging electronics market

The electronics industry in the US is, and will remain, a significant market for specialty gases. However, its importance as a growth market for specialty gases has faded, primarily as the result of outsourced production to other nations, mainly in the Asia/Pacific rim. The US electronics industry’s output has flattened or declined in recent years, a trend that will result in stagnant or weakening specialty gas demand, and market increases in this area will be the result of price escalation rather than higher volume. One bright spot in this sector is the potential increase in the production of products and materials used for photovoltaic applications and plasma display panels, which will help soften market declines to the sector.

Study coverage

These and other key findings are detailed in Specialty Gases. It presents historical supply and demand data (1998, 2003 and 2008) as well as forecasts for 2013 and 2018 by type, application and consuming sector. In addition, the study considers key market environment factors, evaluates company market share data and profiles major industry competitors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION viii

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

II. MARKET ENVIRONMENT 4

General 4
Macroeconomic Outlook 5
Demographic Trends 10
Manufacturing Outlook 13
Environmental & Regulatory Issues 16
Government Agencies & Regulations 17
Occupational Safety and Health Administration 17
Department of Transportation 18
Environmental Protection Agency 18
Other 21
Trade Organizations 21
Compressed Gas Association 21
National Fire Protection Association 22
Gases and Welding Distributors Association 22
Historical Market Trends 22
Pricing Trends 25
International Markets & Foreign Trade 28

III. PRODUCTS 31
General 31
High Purity Atmospheric Gases 36
Nitrogen 37
Oxygen 40
Noble Gases 43
Helium 45
Argon 50
Xenon 53
Krypton 56
Neon 59
Carbon Gases 60
Carbon Dioxide 62
Carbon Monoxide 65
Methane 67
Other 69
Halogen Gases 72
Fluorine Gases 74
Chlorine Gases 79
Bromine Gases 82
Other Specialty Gases 84
High Purity Hydrogen 86
Zero Air 89
Nitrous Oxide 91
Silane 92
All Other Gases 94

IV. MARKETS & APPLICATIONS 97
General 97
Markets 98
Manufacturing 101
Chemical Processing 102
Lasers 110
Lighting 115
Other Manufacturing Markets 120
Electronics 122
Electronic Components Industry Outlook 123
Specialty Gas Demand 125
Suppliers 136
Health Care 137
National Health Expenditures 138
Specialty Gas Demand 140
Suppliers 150
Government/Academia 151
Research Spending Outlook 152
Specialty Gas Demand 153
Suppliers 156
Other 157
Applications 159
Inert Atmosphere & Purge Gases 161
Analytical Gases 163
Other Applications 168

V. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 172
General 172
Market Share 174
Competitive Strategies 181
Acquisitions & Divestitures 182
Cooperative Agreements 187
Research & Development 190
Manufacturing 191
Air Separation 192
Other Specialty Gas Production Methods 194
Marketing 195
Distribution 197
Company Profiles 199
Advanced Gas Technologies 200
Advanced Specialty Gases Incorporated 201
Air Products and Chemicals Incorporated 202
Airgas Incorporated 207
American Air Liquide Holdings, see L’Air Liquide
AmeriGas Partners, see UGI
Aqua Lung Group, see L’Air Liquide
DCP Midstream Partners LP 211
DuPont (EI) de Nemours 212
Honeywell International Incorporated 213
Inweld Corporation 215
L’Air Liquide SA 216
LifeGas, see Linde
Linde Group 219
Linweld Incorporated, see Taiyo Nippon Sanso
Maine Oxy-Acetylene Supply Company 222
Matheson Tri-Gas, see Taiyo Nippon Sanso
Mills Welding Supply, see Praxair
Mitsui Chemicals Incorporated 224
Norco Incorporated 225
NorLab, see Norco
Nova Gas Technologies Incorporated 227
Ozark Fluorine Specialties, see TOXCO
Praxair Incorporated 228
Renewable Energy Corporation ASA 232
Scott Specialty Gases, see L’Air Liquide
Spec-Air Specialty Gases, see Maine Oxy-Acetylene Supply
Spectra Gases, see Linde
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation 233
3M Company 237
TOXCO Incorporated 239
UGI Corporation 240
Voltaix Incorporated 241
Welsco Incorporated 242

LIST OF TABLES

SECTION I -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Summary Table 3

SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT
1 Macroeconomic Indicators 10
2 Population & Households 13
3 Manufacturers' Shipments 16
4 Specialty Gas Market, 1998-2008 24
5 Specialty Gas Prices 27
6 US Specialty Gas Foreign Trade 30

SECTION III -- PRODUCTS
1 Specialty Gas Demand by Type 35
2 High Purity Atmospheric Gas Demand by Type & Market 37
3 High Purity Nitrogen Demand 40
4 High Purity Oxygen Demand 43
5 Noble Gas Demand by Type & Market 45
6 Helium Demand 50
7 High Purity Argon Demand 53
8 Xenon Demand 56
9 Krypton Demand 58
10 Neon Demand 60
11 Carbon Gas Demand by Type & Market 62
12 High Purity Carbon Dioxide Demand 65
13 Carbon Monoxide Demand 67
14 Methane Demand 69
15 Other Carbon Gases Demand 72
16 Halogen Gas Demand by Type & Market 74
17 Fluorine Gases Demand by Type & Market 78
18 Chlorine Gases Demand by Type & Market 81
19 Bromine Gases Demand by Type & Market 84
20 Other Specialty Gases Demand by Type & Market 86
21 High Purity Hydrogen Demand 89
22 Zero Air Demand 90
23 Nitrous Oxide Demand 92
24 Silane Gases Demand by Type 94
25 All Other Specialty Gases Demand 96

SECTION IV -- MARKETS & APPLICATIONS
1 Specialty Gas Demand by Market 100
2 Manufacturing Market for Specialty Gases 102
3 Chemical Product Shipments 105
4 Chemical Processing Market for Specialty Gases
by Application & Type 109
5 Laser Systems & Equipment Supply & Demand 112
6 Laser Market for Specialty Gases 114
7 Lamps Supply & Demand 117
8 Lighting Market for Specialty Gases 120
9 Other Manufacturing Markets for Specialty Gases 122
10 US Electronic Component Shipments 125
11 Electronics Market for Specialty Gases 126
12 Blanketing/Atmosphere Gas Demand in Electronics 128
13 Etching & Cleaning Gas Demand in Electronics 131
14 Precursor Gas Demand in Electronics 133
15 Dopant Gas Demand in Electronics 134
16 Other Electronics Gas Demand 136
17 National Health Expenditures 140
18 Health Care Market for Specialty Gases by Application & Type 142
19 Analytical & Laboratory Specialty Gas Demand 144
20 Health Care Demand for Sterilant Gases 146
21 Other Health Care Specialty Gas Demand 150
22 Research Spending 153
23 Government/Academia Market for Specialty Gases 156
24 Other Markets for Specialty Gases 159
25 Specialty Gas Demand by Application 161
26 Inert Atmosphere & Purge Gases Demand 163
27 Analytical Specialty Gases Demand by Market & Application 168
28 Other Applications for Specialty Gases 171

SECTION V -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
1 Specialty Gas Sales by Company, 2008 175
2 Selected Acquisitions & Divestitures 184
3 Selected Cooperative Agreements 189

LIST OF CHARTS

SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT
1 Specialty Gas Market, 1998-2008 25

SECTION III – PRODUCTS
1 Specialty Gas Demand by Type, 2008 35

SECTION IV -- MARKETS & APPLICATIONS
1 Specialty Gas Demand by Market, 2008 101

SECTION V -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
1 US Specialty Gas Market Share, 2008 176