Dow company Outlook: Product Demand
According to its own outlook, Dow company expects dynamic market conditions in 2024, with growth in demand for specific products.
This U.S. multinational corporation is involved in the manufacture of chemicals, plastics and specialty materials.
While Dow’s net sales fell at a year-on-year rate of 21.6% in 2023, to US$44.622 billion, its net earnings fell to US$660 million, from US$4.64 billion in 2022.
Going forward: by 2024, Dow is expected to maintain its commitment to financial and operating discipline as it navigates dynamic market conditions.
While the company expects weakness in demand for industrial and durable goods to continue in the first quarter, early positive signs in areas such as construction, automotive and consumer electronics are encouraging.
In Packaging and Specialty Plastics, Dow projects moderately improving macroeconomic conditions to support demand growth, especially in higher-value functional polymers and flexible food and specialty packaging.
On the other hand, in Infrastructure and Industrial Intermediates, the company projects market fundamentals to remain under pressure for propylene oxide, polyols, isocyanates, construction chemicals and derivatives, driven largely by recent industry capacity additions.
Dow company
At the same time, resilient demand is projected in the food and pharmaceuticals end markets, and the company will foreseeably benefit from its multi-year growth project that will expand propylene glycol production at its Map Ta Phut site, which is expected to come online in 2024.
In performance materials and coatings, high-performance silicone products are well positioned to generate volume growth in key markets.
Volume growth in raw materials and intermediates, as well as modest price increases, are expected, driven by moderately improved industry supply and demand dynamics.
Local demand and prices for architectural and industrial coatings face uncertainty given their correlation to the building and construction market, as well as interest rates.
