Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Construction chemicals: Movement

Why admixtures are mostly water and rarely travel far

What this tab covers How it moves between countries: share of output traded, physical form and transport, the largest exporters and importers, main routes, India's trade, and handling rules in transit.

Trade in 2024 UN Comtrade, HS 382440

World exports $1.76 bn 121 reporting exporters · about 4.10 m t Largest exporter China 19.4% of world exports Largest importer Philippines 5.6% of world imports India imports $56.4 m
exports $44.9 m #6 importer · #10 exporter

Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows

Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 382440: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

HS 382440: largest exporters

CountryShareValue (US$)Tonnes
China19.4%$342.8 m2.80 m
Germany13.8%$243.6 m148k
Italy8.5%$150.0 m104k
United States8.2%$143.9 m55k
Türkiye3.8%$67.2 m111k
South Korea3.8%$66.8 m74k
Spain3.3%$57.6 m58k
Netherlands2.9%$51.2 m37k

HS 382440: largest importers

CountryShareValue (US$)Tonnes
Philippines5.6%$112.3 m661k
United States4.5%$89.8 m37k
Germany3.9%$78.4 m56k
Saudi Arabia3.4%$68.0 m65k
Iraq3.3%$67.3 m60k
India2.8%$56.4 m43k
Indonesia2.6%$52.5 m58k
Belgium2.6%$51.5 m43k
UN Comtrade 2024, reported by each country (exports by exporters, imports by importers), all partners. Some countries (for example Russia and Iran) do not report, so their shares are missing. HS codes can be broader than the tile: check the code before reading a share as the whole market.

How it moves

MeasureFigure
Share tradedlow for liquid admixtures and bagged mortars, which are made regionally; higher for PCE macromonomers and polymer powders; no published share
How it movesAdmixtures are mostly water (30-45% active) and move by road tanker or IBC within a region. Dry mortars move in bags by truck. Macromonomers, polymer powders and resins move in containers.
Routes and chokepointsRegional supply; intermediates move from China, Korea and Europe to India, South-East Asia and the Middle East.
IndiaHS 382440: India imported $56 million (2.8% of world imports, rank 6) and exported $45 million (2.5% of world exports, rank 10) (UN Comtrade 2024).
Handling in transitMost admixtures are not dangerous goods. Some accelerators are corrosive (class 8). Isocyanate and epoxy components are regulated chemicals; solvent-based coatings may be flammable (class 3).