US Chemical Output Rose Just 0.7% in 2026: Parsing the ACC's End of Year Data

US chemical production volumes are expected to rise by just 0.7% in 2026, according to data from the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The modest increase highlights a relatively slow recovery for the US chemical industry, despite improvements across several major segments. Growth in basic chemicals, specialty chemicals and agricultural chemicals helped support overall output, but the gains were partly offset by weaker production of consumer-oriented chemical products.

More Chemical End-Use Industries Are Growing

Despite the limited overall production increase, the ACC's data points to improving breadth across the industry. The organization expects growth in 12 of the 20 chemistry end-use industries it tracks in 2026, compared with only 9 industries in 2025. This suggests that while total production growth remains subdued, more areas of the chemical economy are beginning to experience improving demand.

Basic and Specialty Chemicals Provide Support

Basic chemicals remain an important contributor to the industry's performance, benefiting from demand across manufacturing and downstream production. Specialty chemicals are also supporting growth as manufacturers continue to require higher-value materials for advanced applications. Agricultural chemicals provide another source of demand, helping offset weaker performance in consumer-related chemical products.

Consumer Products Remain a Weak Spot

The weaker performance of consumer product output shows that the recovery is not uniform across the US economy. Consumer-facing chemical demand is closely connected to household spending, packaging, durable goods and other downstream markets. Continued softness in these areas can limit overall chemical production growth even when industrial and agricultural applications perform better.

The Outlook Shows Gradual Improvement

The increase from 9 growing end-use industries in 2025 to 12 in 2026 provides a more positive signal than the 0.7% headline growth rate alone suggests. It indicates that the US chemical sector is broadening its recovery, even if production volumes remain constrained. For chemical manufacturers and suppliers, the key trend to monitor will be whether improving demand across more end-use industries can translate into stronger production growth in the coming years.