The latest ranking of the world’s top 50 chemical companies has been released, with DowDuPont taking the top spot.

Release Date:

2019-08-03

On July 29, the U.S.-based Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) released its latest ranking of the world’s top 50 chemical companies. DowDuPont claimed the No. 1 spot, with chemical sales totaling $86 billion in 2018; BASF ranked second with $74.1 billion in sales; and Sinopec came in third, posting $69.2 billion in chemical sales for 2018.

Five Chinese chemical companies made it into the global top 50, one more than the previous year. PetroChina, a new entrant this year, ranked 12th; Sinopec remained at No. 3, while Formosa Plastics held steady at No. 6; Wanhua Chemical posted significant progress, climbing to No. 37; and Syngenta, acquired by ChemChina, placed 31st.

This year, five new chemical companies have made the list. In addition to PetroChina, they include Nutrien, Umicore, Johnson Matthey, and Celanese.

The rankings show that the global chemical market posted robust growth in 2018, but is now showing signs of a slowdown. In 2018, the top 50 chemical companies collectively generated $926.8 billion in revenue, up 13.4% from the same period a year earlier.

However, the profits of the world’s top 50 chemical companies have not increased significantly, suggesting that market momentum may be waning. Among the 48 chemical firms that reported comparable annual results, operating profit in the chemicals segment rose by just 3.4% to $111 billion. Notably, 23 companies reported declines in earnings, with six of the eight Japanese firms experiencing lower profits.

This year, the top spot in the global Top 50 is held by a new company—DowDuPont, which emerged from the 2017 merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont. It ended BASF’s 12-year reign to become the world’s largest chemical company, though only temporarily. Earlier this year, DowDuPont split into three independent entities: Dow, DuPont, and Corteva Agriscience; both Dow and DuPont are sure to appear in next year’s rankings. As a result, BASF will almost certainly reclaim its position at the top next year.