3. Worldwide consumption and applications

Like most high-performance plastics, PPS has enjoyed strong, continuous growth, despite downturns and crises, rising from 16,000 t in 1991 to over 80,000 t twenty years later, representing an average annual growth rate of 8.4%.

The growth rate is set to continue at around 7% over the next five years, according to comments from leading producers.

Relative consumption of PPS in the world's main regions in 2010 (table 3 ) shows that Japan was still in the lead. However, disasters in Japan and crises in Europe have undoubtedly altered these proportions in 2012. Estimated consumption of PPS by major sectors worldwide in 2011 is given in table 4 .