American tool manufacturers, particularly those making hand tools, have been hit hard by competition from lower cost imports from China and other parts of Asia. Foreign companies are also making inroads in the US market by buying American tool producers and their well-known brand names.

Warm air furnaces comprise the vast majority of overall demand, with 64% of total value sales in 2016. Forced air heating is preferred in the US, installed in both commercial and residential buildings.

Pesticides are one of the most hotly debated topics among environmental and agricultural scientists today, and the EPA’s March 29, 2017 decision to continue to allow the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos in agriculture is proving to be controversial. Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the EPA is permitting the continued use of chlorpyrifos in agriculture because it believes the science linking the insecticide to neurologic and developmental disorders is not sound.

Sales of recreational marijuana are expected to surge this 4/20 in Washington DC and the eight states where it is legal. But the industry’s growth outside of the unofficial holiday is not mere puffery.

Demand for power lawnmowers is forecast to rise 3.2% per year to $4.2 billion in 2021. Sales advances are expected to slow from the rebound-fueled pace of the 2006-2011 period.

Demand for paint and coatings in the US is projected to rise 2.3% per year to 1.4 billion gallons in 2020.

The US dominates the North American automotive aftermarket for powertrain components, accounting for 86% of overall sales, or $10.3 billion, in 2016. Through 2021, US aftermarket demand for engine, transmission, and drivetrain components will rise 1.6% per year, a slight uptick from the 2011-2016 period but trailing advances in the smaller Canadian and Mexican markets.

Demand for agricultural adjuvants is expected to increase 1.8% annually to 770 million pounds in 2021. Gains will be supported by an emphasis on improved pesticide formulation to increase efficiency and minimize environmental damage.

Demand for packaging for ready-to-eat poultry applications is projected to climb 4.6% annually to $450 million in 2021. The ready-to-eat market comprises packaging of prepared foods by foodservice operations of supermarkets, convenience stores, mass retailers and other stores (e.g., natural foods stores, club stores) and excludes precooked products from food manufacturers.

US filter demand is forecast to rise to $14.7 billion in 2020 on yearly advances of 3.1%, below the global average. Growth will be largely supported by replacement requirements of the large installed base of filter-containing products, such as motor vehicles, industrial machinery, warm air furnaces, industrial pollution control equipment, and consumer air and water treatment systems.