2013, global methanol demand is expected to reach 65 million metric tons driven in large part by the resurgence of the global housing market and increased demand for cleaner energy.
But the methanol industry is not just those companies large and small throughout the globe that produce methanol everyday from a wide array of feedstocks – including natural gas, coal, biomass, waste and even CO2 pollution – the industry is also made up of thousands of distributors, technology innovators, downstream manufacturers and service providers.
Methanol is used to produce acetic acid, formaldehyde, and a number of other chemical intermediaries that are utilized to make countless products throughout the global economy – and by volume, methanol is one of the top 5 chemical commodities shipped around the world each year. The global methanol industry generates $36 billion in economic activity each year, while creating over 100,000 jobs around the globe.