In general, the quantity of material displaced is a very small part of that material’s total market. Frequently, however, industries producing the finished product have had to make substantial changes in their equipment in order to use synthetic resins. This has been true in the button industry, in the bottle closure industry, in the varnish and lacquer industry, and in the various electrical supply industries; and readjustment is now proceeding in the fancy container industry and in the safety glass industry.
Competition between synthetic resins.
Any particular synthetic resin must compete for its market with other synthetic resins, as well as with other materials. The basis of choice or substitution will be the same as that which has already been briefly discussed in connection with the displacement of other materials by resins. As between a number of resins with properties fitting them for a particular use, the total costs of using each will be compared and the choice will go to the least expensive; but where a resin has special advantages in a particular use it may win out over a less expensive resin.
It should be emphasized that this battle of materials for markets is a never-ending one. The fact that a specific synthetic resin has achieved a certain position is no guarantee that it may not lose it wholly or in part to some newer resin or other material. Thus cast phenolic resin was for a time the only resin available in light colors but urea resins became available in pastel shades and more recently water-clear polystyrene and acrylate resins have come on the market. Until recently tar-acid resins were without competition in laminating, but urea resins now are used to some extent for the surface laminae and the tar-acid resins now face a potential threat in a new product offered to laminators. If the use of this cellulose sheet, which looks much like blotting paper and which has lignin incorporated in it to act as a binder in the press, should materially decrease the cost of laminated sheets, it will mean serious new competition for the tar-acid laminating resins.
The general effect of the increase in number of types of synthetic resin has been to modify the market outlook of the producers of each type. They are now more inclined to view the market as being limited by the price at which they can supply their product and by the physical properties of each resin rather than attempt to exploit it as a universal resin for all purposes.
Resins classified by cost.
At present the resins produced in largest volume are the alkyd resins for use in surface coatings; the tar-acid resins for molding, laminating, and surface coatings; the urea resins, chiefly for moldings; and the cast phenolic resins. Roughly, the price per pound of pure resin material[12] for these various resins may be compared as follows:
| Type of resin: | Average sales price of net resin, 1937 (per pound) |
|---|---|
| Cast phenolic | $0.41 |
| Tar-acid: | |
| For molding | .18 |
| For laminating | .13 |
| For coatings | .17 |
| Alkyd | .20 |
| Urea | .45 |
Because the cost of the filler is less per pound than the cost of the resin, the cost of the tar-acid and urea molding powders will be less than the figures given for the pure resin. On the other hand, wholesale prices paid by consumers will include transportation and distribution costs not included in the figures of manufacturers’ sales.