Methanol Market Share, Size, Trends, & Industry Analysis Report, By Feedstock (Natural Gas, Coal), By Derivatives (Formaldehyde, Acetic Acid, Gasoline, MTO, Gasoline, MMA), By End-Use (Automotive, Construction, Electronics, Paints & Coatings, Pharmaceuticals), By Regions: Segment Forecast, 2024 - 2032

The global methanol market size was valued at USD 31.01 billion in 2023. The market is anticipated to grow from USD 32.47 billion in 2024 to USD 47.21 billion by 2032, exhibiting the CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period.

Methanol, a common name for methyl alcohol is a commodity chemical used in numerous applications directly or further modified chemically to manufacture a variety of other chemical compounds. Natural gas and coal are the major feedstock for the production of methanol.

Global demand of methanol is mainly driven by the production of other basic chemicals which are further used in end-use products and fuels. Methanol is widely used in production of other chemical compounds such as formaldehyde, acetic acid, MTO/MTP, MMA, and methylamines. These derivatives of methanol are further used in manufacturing products for large industries such as electronics, plastics, construction material, and automotive.

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Some of the new applications for methanol that were introduced in the industry later, include fuel blending, dimethyl ether production, and light olefins. Historically fuel applications of methanol held extremely minor share of the market, that increased in last five years due to expansion of energy market. Methanol, when produced from renewable feedstocks is a type of biofuel and is blended with petroleum-based fuels in transportation sector to reduce carbon emissions in the environment.

The overall methanol economics is mainly dependent upon the costs of the feedstock which constitutes approximately 90% of the total cost. Natural gas is the major feedstock for the methanol production and represents around 85% of total installed capacity, where initially the production existed in North America and Europe. The industry later witnessed a sharp rise after witnessing massive demand from China on account of its rich coal reserves, that is another significant feedstock for methanol.

Methanol demand was severely affected by the slump in prices of crude oil in 2014, wherein the overall market grew at an average rate of 6% yearly in the past five years.  Among the newer applications, methanol demand in fuel has witnessed slow growth currently and other innovative applications such as MTP (methanol-to-propylene) and MTO (methanol-to-olefins) have witnessed rapid growth.

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Segment Analysis

Formaldehyde production is expected to be the largest end-use for methanol. Formaldehyde is used to in the manufacturing of adhesives and its demand is mainly driven by rapidly expanding construction industry, where it is used to manufacture construction board products. The demand of formaldehyde is also a result of general economic conditions such as if construction industry witnesses any slump in the growth, the formaldehyde market will be severely affected.

Other end-uses for methanol include methylamines, chloro-methanes, MTO/MTP, solvents, DMT, acetic acid, MTBE, MMA, gasoline blending, biodiesel, and dimethyl ether. MTO/MTP is one of the latest end-use for these products and is anticipated to witness moderate growth over the forecast period.

Methanol Market Report Scope

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Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific is the largest consumer for methanol where Northeast Asia constitutes major share of the regional market. China alone has more than 200 distinct production locations in China. New plant additions in Northeast Asia, including MTO/MTP plants has significantly driven this region’s market.

China is the most significant and largest contributor to the growth of global methanol production. The considerable development of worldwide methanol production has resulted in immense opportunities for China, wherein the country is already focusing on achieving chemical self-sufficiency.

North America is the second largest regional market for methanol. The demand of methanol in North America is primarily driven by vast and advanced construction industry that utilizes formaldehyde as a major product.

Competitive Analysis

Global methanol market constitutes of large number of multinational and domestic companies and is highly fragmented. Some of the major industry players for methanol include Methanex Corporation, Methanol Production Company, Eastman Chemical Company, BASF SE, SABIC, and Petronas.

Recent Development

• April 2023: Suez Methanol Derivatives (SMD) and Methanex Corporation signed a contract for the construction of a new methanol pipeline. Under this arrangement, Methanex Corporation will provide methanol from its plant in Egypt to a project in Damietta run by a local SMD company.
• January 2024: Celanese Corporation announced that it commenced the operation of its CCU project in Texas. The project is a part of Celanese’s joint venture with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. With the project, Celanese aims to make about 130,000 metric tons of methanol from 180,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas produced like carbon dioxide.