Most Pigment carbon black manufacturing units in the western world, especially in North America and Europe, are being forced to shut down their operations because of the heavy competition they are facing from low cost Asian manufacturers.

Meanwhile another Carbon Black industry report, this time published by research and markets, suggests that the global specialty carbon black market is expected to grow at the CAGR of 5% by 2018.

The report adds that the market for specialty carbon black has remained consolidated and there are only few players operating globally. This can be attributed to the high inclination of carbon black manufacturers towards commodity carbon black as a result of high usage for tire production in the rapidly growing automotive industry. However, the specialty carbon black market has witnessed entry of new players during the last 3-4 years, either through mergers and acquisitions or shift in focus of rubber black players towards specialty carbon black. The entry of these players can be attributed to high profit margins associated with specialty carbon black. In addition, demand for high quality specialty carbon blacks is also benefiting producers, as they are being majorly demanded by end-user industries, such as printing ink and coating.Carbon black N330