The global demand for SMC increased by ~7% in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020, mainly driven by the increased light vehicle sales which increased by 11.6% in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020. The SMC market has recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic as most of the industries started functioning normally. In Q1 2021, SMC prices on average hiked about 14% as compared to Q4 2020. The figure below depicts the change in demand and the price of SMC in the past five quarters.
Source: Lucintel
Figure 1: Global Quarterly Change in SMC Shipment and Price Trends
North America
The SMC industry witnessed growth during Q1 2021, the price increase was due to the imbalance between the supply & demand across different industries. As downstream consumption continued to recover and resuming normal production activities resulted in an increased demand for SMC products.
The demand for SMC increased by 3% in Q4 2020 when compared to Q3 2020, while it declined by ~2.8% when compared to Q4 2019. Transportation and construction industries witnessed growth in Q4 2020, after the decline caused by the pandemic in Q2 2020. Transportation is the major consumer of SMC and the pandemic made it obligatory for the car makers to close their plants in North America, resulting in production dropping to a level last seen at the end of World War II.
Europe
In Q1 2021, the European SMC market witnessed growth; demand for SMC was positively influenced by the growth in various end use industries such as transportation, electrical, and others. In Q1 2021, European light vehicle sales increased by 3% as compared to Q1 2020.
SMC demand in Q4 2020 registered growth compared to Q3 2020. Growing automotive production and construction activities helped the demand for SMC to rebound. Light vehicle sales increased by more than ~2% in Q4 2020 compared to Q3 2020, and declined by ~5% as compared to Q4 2019. The market is still weaker than the previous year at the same period but is now slowly improving.
APAC
In Q1 2021, demand for SMC increased due to growth in economic activity, growing trade, recovering import and export activities, and normal working conditions. Demand for SMC was positively influenced by growing demand in various end use industries such as transportation, electrical and home appliances.
In Q4 2020, demand for SMC products witnessed growth due to recovery in building construction activities and automotive production backed by the resumption of operational activities with the new normal precautions. Lightweight vehicle sales in China increased by ~20% in Q4 2020 from Q3 2020, while it increased by ~8% as compared to Q4 2019 surged the demand for SMC.
The price and demand analysis on above is published monthly for various regions. Lucintel analysts collect supply, demand and price data from various suppliers and consumers on a monthly basis and also analyzes news on supply and demand issues, production, and price trends. This allows Lucintel to publish unbiased assessments on price and demand movements to help you make confident business decisions on your negotiation or business issues.
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