Like companies around the world, US chemical manufacturers were hit by COVID-19 last year. The lockdown caused by the pandemic has slowed economic activity, with companies scrambling to respond by cutting capital spending and other costs.

The impact of the outbreak is reflected in Echemi's latest survey of the top 50 U.S. chemical producers based on 2020 data. Chemical sales for the 50 companies totaled $250.9 billion, down 10.1 percent from the same period last year.

Profits have fallen even further. The 46 companies reporting chemical operating income totaled $24.8 billion, down 15.6 percent.

In April and May of last year, at the height of the epidemic, the results were even worse. In the second quarter of last year, many chemical companies saw their chemical sales fall by more than 20%. Dow, for example, reported that sales fell 24.2 percent in the same period, compared with a 10.3 percent decline for the full year.

But business began to pick up in the second half of 2020, especially in the fourth quarter. The industry is also benefiting from demand for some key products. For example, Dow's sales of polyethylene, which is used for packaging, have increased this year.

Worried about having enough cash to survive the pandemic, chemical companies cut costs wherever they could. Capital expenditure is a frequent target. In many cases, construction had to stop because of the pandemic. The 43 companies that disclosed capital expenditure data reported total spending of $15.7 billion, down 17.8 percent.

Of the 31 companies reporting RD spending, RD spending fared better, sliding just 2.9 percent to $3.5 billion.

The current survey reflects several other changes from the survey released by Echemi a year ago. Three companies fell in the rankings. Versum Materials was acquired by Merck. Emerald Performance Materials sold a major business to Huntsman last year, and Lanxess is buying the rest of the company. Innophos was acquired by private equity firm One Rock Capital.

Three new companies have joined the group: ChampionX, Ecolab's former oilfield chemicals business; Choline chloride manufacturer Balchem; And, more recently, Pioneer, an agricultural chemical company.

Of course, Echemi's survey is not comprehensive, as it only includes companies that publicly report chemical sales data. Many private companies that don't have to publicly report these numbers, such as TPC Group, SI Group, and Koch Industries, of course, have sales to rank, and public companies such as Procter Gamble and PPG Industries also don't break out sales for their chemical divisions.