The chemical industry is sometimes referred to as the "keystone" industry because of the way the rest of the manufacturing sector relies on chemicals. Chemicals is nearly a $1.5 trillion global enterprise, and the U.S. chemical industry is the world's largest producer.

The U.S. chemical industry produces more than 70,000 different products, ranging from industrial chemicals to soaps and toiletries, from paints to agricultural chemicals, from plastics and manmade fibers to pharmaceuticals.

The Missouri Chemicals Industry consists of 485 companies in Chemical Manufacturing (NAICS 325). The Chemical Manufacturing subsector is based on the transformation of organic and inorganic raw materials by a chemical process and the formulation of products.

• 14.4% of MO’s 485 Chemical Manufacturing companies are in the Kansas City area (Clay/Jackson County); 35.3% of MO’s 485 Chemical Manufacturing companies are in St. Louis City / St. Louis County.

  (See Interactive Map)

• The 1997 Value of Shipments for the Missouri Chemical Manufacturing Industry was $10.56 billion.

The Missouri Industries of the Future (IOF) initiative targets the Organic Chemicals Industry.

MISSOURI INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT FACTS

• The Missouri Chemicals Industry currently directly employs approximately 27,000 people, representing 6.5% of the state’s manufacturing workforce. Rank among states: 13.
• Workers in Missouri’s business of chemistry are among the best paid by the state’s manufacturers. Average wages of $63,029 are 69% higher than the state’s manufacturing average and 118% higher than the state’s overall wages for all industries.
• The St. Louis area (St. Louis City & St. Louis County) accounts for approximately 42% of Missouri’s chemical industry employment; The Kansas City area (Jackson and Clay Counties) accounts for approximately 28%. (See Interactive Map)

Missouri Industry Profiles

CHEMICALS INDUSTRY PROFILE (PowerPoint, 1.38 MB)

ORGANIC CHEMICALS INDUSTRY (PowerPoint, 1.16 MB)

OIT Chemicals Vision and Roadmaps

INDUSTRY VISION (PDF, 310 KB)

BIOCATALYSIS (PDF, 612 KB)

COMBINATIONAL CHEMISTRY (PDF, 1.61 MB)

COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY (PDF, 584 KB)

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (PDF, 324 KB)

MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION (PDF, 607 KB)

MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY (PDF, 442 KB)

NEW PROCESS CHEMISTRY (PDF, 1.08 MB)

SEPARATIONS 2000 (PDF, 3.39 MB)

Department of Energy Web Pages

OIT's Chemicals IOF Home Page

EIA's Chemicals Industry Analysis Brief

Other Useful Links

Chemical Industry Vision2020

American Chemical Council’s Missouri Fact Sheet (PDF, 24 KB)

Last Updated: 4/22/03