Japan’s carbon black masterbatch industry is experiencing a downturn. The expected rise in demand starting in July 2015 had not materialized as of November. Accordingly, the Japan Polymer Mixing Manufacturers Association (JPMA; comprising 24 companies) has lowered its forecast for 2015 to between 110,000 and 115,000 tons, about the same as 2014, or less. The year the JPMA was established,…
