The chemical companies has entered a period of profound transformation
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy and the state of the chemical industry. In the past eight months, the industry’s demand has fallen sharply.
Although the industry has faced cyclical challenges such as overcapacity, pricing pressure and trade uncertainty before 2020, many post-epidemic changes have shown structural or destructive characteristics.
American chemical companies responded to the crisis by focusing on operational efficiency, asset optimization, and cost management.

As the industry enters 2021, changes in economic, social, environmental and political expectations are expected to play a greater role in shaping its future.
In order to succeed in the changing industrial structure of the chemical market, companies should consider implementing a series of targeted strategic plans in major functional areas (such as R&D and technology).
However, focusing too much on the short-term may mean that the company will eventually ignore long-term opportunities, including investing in innovation, emerging applications, and adopting new business models that can generate sustained growth.

A key aspect of dealing with this kind of disruption in 2021 is to understand which customer behaviors are temporary and which are permanent, because the recovery may be uneven in the end market and region.
Companies can resolve this uncertainty by re-examining their product portfolio and implementing robust scenario planning that includes unknown factors.
In the outlook of the chemical industry, we see five trends that will emerge in the coming year.
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