The Guide to the Business of Chemistry is a premier source of data on the chemical industry. The publication characterizes the chemical business in ways that are familiar to the industry, as well as its observers. A number of industries, such as steel, pulp and paper, glass, and oil refining, are essentially based on chemical processes, but are not included here. The role of chemistry in these areas highlights the importance of the business of chemistry in the U.S. economy and in enhancing society’s quality of life.
The Guide to the Business of Chemistry segments the business into several types of production: basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, agricultural chemicals, and consumer products. Each of these segments has distinct characteristics, growth dynamics, markets, new developments, and issues. In government classification systems, pharmaceuticals is also considered a segment of the chemical industry; however, ACC does not include pharmaceuticals in its definition of the chemical industry. In most segments of this publication, the data is focused on basic and specialty chemicals or chemicals excluding pharmaceuticals.