The 2013 Import and Export Market for Float Glass and Surface Ground or Polished Glass in Sheets in South Africa

On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets in South Africa face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets to South Africa? How important is South Africa compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets vary from one country of origin to another in South Africa? On the supply side, South Africa also exports float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets. Which countries receive the most exports from South Africa? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers? This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets in South Africa. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets for those countries serving South Africa via exports, or supplying from South Africa via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models. In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where South Africa fits into the world market for imported and exported float glass and surface ground or polished glass in sheets. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for South Africa in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country