Helping Optimize the Global Balance between Demand and Supply of Sulfuric Acid

Global demand-supply balancer

Why has Sumitomo Corporation made such an enormous investment in the development of these logistic systems? It's simple—because we, as a general trading company with global networks, aim to play a "balancer" role.

As mentioned earlier, production of sulfuric acid depends on the production of nonferrous metal manufacturing. At the same time, demand is constantly changing at a global level. We have these systems with the aim of forecasting changing demand and stabilizing purchase and supply on a global scale. By owning tanks and having inventory—in other words, a buffer function—we can optimize the balance between demand and supply. There are many companies trading sulfuric acid on a bilateral basis. But only a limited number of companies with logistics functions can trade with multiple companies to meet their demands. Sumitomo Corporation is a leading company in the latter business approach.

Market expected to steadily grow

Among basic chemicals, sulfuric acid used to be relatively low-profile. In recent years, however, it has been drawing attention; its demand for fertilizer manufacturing is growing due to the increasing population worldwide along with demand for leaching of copper from ore.

With an expected demand growth of 5% to 10% per year, the sulfuric acid market is attracting attention as a very promising market.

While diversifying our supply sources and customer base, we will work to further enhance our logistics functions and solidify the foundation of our business as a global balancer.

March 2011