North America Surfactants Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

North America Surfactants Market Overview

North America Surfactants Market size is expected to be valued at $66.2 billion by the end of the year 2026 and the North American surfactants industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period 2021-2026. The expanding food industry in the North America region is one of the biggest factors driving the North America surfactants market. Surfactants are used in wetting agents and emulsifiers in the baking industry for easing the surface tension while baking. Emulsifiers help in mixing two liquids in food, which is otherwise not possible. Furthermore, surfactants are also widely used as amphiphilic agents in detergents and soaps. The growth in the personal care products and toiletry products are also one of the significant products driving the North America surfactants market during the forecast period.

COVID-19 impact

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the North America Surfactants market witnessed a considerable amount of growth from the soap and detergent market, since it is extensively used as amphiphilic agents in detergents and soaps. During the pandemic, there was a surge in the demand for soaps, hand wash, hand sanitizers and others which majorly contributed to the growth of the North America surfactants market. However, the North America surfactants market also witnessed downfall in the demand from other major end-use industries such as textile industry, oil industry and others. Further, the economic restrictions in exports, imports and trade activities hugely impacted the North America surfactants market in terms of production, supply and distribution. However, the North America surfactants market witness growth from the detergent industry, set to a gradual improvement towards the end of the year 2020. Furthermore, the North America surfactants market is set to improve drastically in the coming months of the year 2021.

Report Coverage

The report: “North America Surfactants Market – Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the North America Surfactants Industry.

By Type: Anionic Surfactant, Non-ionic Surfactant, Cationic Surfactant, Silicone Surfactant, Amphoteric Surfactant and Others.
By Material: Synthetic Surfactants and Bio-based Surfactants.
By Application: Agro chemicals, Emulsion Polymerization, Foaming Agents, Textile processing, Industry & Institutional Cleaning, Oilfield Chemicals, Personal Care and Household Cleaning, Food Processing, Fuel Additives, Lubricants, Elastomers & Plastics and Others.
By End-Use Industry: Agriculture, Food and Beverages, Textile Industry, Personal Care & Cosmetics, Oil & Gas and Others.
By Geography: North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), APAC (China, Japan India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Rest of South America) and RoW (Middle East and Africa). 

Key Takeaways

• United States market held the largest share in the North America surfactants market owing to the increase in growth of cosmetics and detergent industry in the US.
• The increase in demand from the soaps and detergents industry due to the increase in the use of surfactants as amphiphilic agents in detergents and soaps is driving the North America surfactants market.
• The growing food and beverages industry in the North American region is one of the significant factors driving the North America surfactants market, as it is widely used as wetting agents and emulsifiers in the food industry.
• During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a considerable increase in the demand for surfactants as they are widely used in the production of soaps, sanitizers, detergents etc.,

Figure: North America Surfactants Market Revenue, 2020-2026 (US$ Billion)

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North America Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Type

Amphoteric Surfactants held the largest share of 40% in the North America surfactants market in the year 2020. Amphoteric surfactants is widely used as alkylbenzene and amphiphilic agents in detergents and soaps, which is the driving factor for demand of anionic surfactant in the North America surfactants market. Amphoteric surfactants possesses low toxicity, anti-bacterial properties, excellent compatibility and good resistance to hard water, which is driving the demand for amphoteric surfactants in the North America surfactants market. Amphoteric surfactants also provides various other properties such as conditioning, foaming & foam stabilization, biodegradability and detergency which is making the amphoteric surfactant the sought after surfactants in the North America surfactants market.

North America Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Material

Bio-based Surfactants segment held the largest share of 56% in the North America surfactants market in the year 2020. Bio-based surfactants has obvious advantages over their synthetic counterparts such as environmentally friendly, increase support from government and other health related benefits which is driving the bio-based surfactants in the North America surfactants market. According to the Scientists at the Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP), an Energy Frontier Research Center led by Ames Laboratory have discovered a chemical process that provides biodegradable, valuable chemicals, which are used as surfactants and detergents in a range of applications, from discarded plastics. The process has the potential to create more sustainable and economically favorable lifecycles for plastics. This is promoting the use of bio-based surfactants in the North America surfactants market.

North America Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Application

Personal Care and Household Cleaning held the largest share of 38% in the North America surfactants market in the year 2020. Surfactants are widely used in the production of soaps and detergents as amphiphilic agents, which is highly driving the personal care and household cleaning segment in the North America surfactants market. Surfactants are an important ingredient in ointments, gels, creams, skin products and hair products, which is leading to the increase in demand for surfactants in personal care applications. According to Cosmetics Europe, the personal care association in Europe, the cosmetics market in US was valued at US$82.5 billion in 2019, the second largest cosmetic market in the world following the European market closely. This is driving the demand for surfactants in the personal care applications in the North America surfactants market.

North America Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By End-Use Industry 

Food and Beverages Cleaning held the largest share of 42% in the North America surfactants market in the year 2020. Surfactants are widely used as wetting agents and emulsifiers in the food industry for easing the surface tension while cooking. This helps in sealing the food products and promote easy flow of food while cooking. According to the National Restaurant Association in the US, the total sales from the restaurant industry was valued at US$659 million in the year 2020. This is highly driving the demand for surfactants in the food industry as it is widely used as emulsifiers and wetting agents in various confectionaries and other packed food products.

North America Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

United States region held the largest share of 44% in the North America surfactants market in the year 2020. The rapid growth in many key-use industries such as personal care and cosmetics, food and beverage industry in the region is the driving factor of the growth in the surfactants market in the North America surfactants market. According to US Department of Agriculture food, agriculture and related industries contributed $1.109 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, a 5.2-percent share. This is increasing the demand for surfactants in the US industry as it is widely used as wetting agents and emulsifiers in the food and beverages industry.

North America Surfactants Market Drivers

Surging Demand from the Cosmetics Industry

The beauty industry in the North America region is expanding which is one of the major factors driving the North America surfactants market. As recorded by The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, the cosmetics industry in USA was recorded at US$82.79 billion during the year 2019. Surfactants are also highly used in cosmetics for inducing froth and foam in the cosmetics cream products. According to The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association the exports of cosmetics from US amounted to US$394.4 billion during the year 2019. The expanding cosmetics industry is one of the significant factor driving the North America Surfactants market. 

Increasing Demand from the Detergent Industry

The increase in demand for soaps and detergents in the last few years in the North American region is highly driving the surfactant market in North America. The growing awareness regarding staying clean and neat for self-cleanliness and self-grooming is increasing the demand for cosmetics and other related products. This is further contributing to the growth of the North America surfactants market. According to the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association, the substantial production capacity of hand sanitizers in the region stands at 3,000,000 bottles of water at present, which is driving the surfactants market in the region. 

North America Surfactants Market Challenges

Fluctuating Prices of Raw Materials such as Crude Oil

The constant fluctuations in the crude oil prices, which is the main raw material used in the production of surfactants is one of the main factors restraining the growth of surfactants market in the North America surfactants market. According to Macrotrends, the price of crude oil increased by 33.76% as of 2021 in the United States. The constant fluctuation in the prices of crude oil is impacting the growth of the North America Surfactants market. The increase in the prices of such raw materials is hugely restraining the growth of North America surfactants market.

North America Surfactants Market Industry Outlook

Facility expansion, production expansion, collaborations, partnerships, investments, acquisitions and mergers are some of the key strategies adopted by players in the North America Surfactants Market. Major players in the North America Surfactants Market are:

1. BASF SE
2. Stepan Co.
3. Croda International 
4. Huntsman International LLC.
5. Nouryon
6. Clariant AG
7. E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co
8. Akzo Nobel N.V
9. Air Products and Chemical
10. Ashland Global among others.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches

• On 17 December 2020, One Rock Capital Partners acquired the site of BASF in Kankakee, Illinois. The site contains the production of vegetable-oil-based raw material sterols and natural vitamin E, anionic surfactants and esters in its capacity. 

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