he global chemical manufacturing companies made it through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic with scratches and abrasions but few broken bones.

According to data from CEN’s Global Top 50 survey, the world’s largest chemical manufacturing companies posted a 7.1% decline in chemical sales from 2019, to $795.8 billion in 2020, the fiscal year on which the survey is based.

It’s not a bad result, considering that economies around the world were shut down early last year to stem the global health crisis. The 50 firms that appeared in CEN’s previous survey, which was mostly based on performance in prepandemic 2019, posted a 5.0% decline in chemical sales.

And although 2020 chemical earnings fell 22.6% for the 44 of the 50 firms that disclose chemical manufacturing companies profits, they fell more—28.2%—in 2019 for the 46 companies disclosing profits on the list, when business in many major markets and economies was beginning to slow.

According to the European chemical manufacturing companies Council, a trade association, global chemical manufacturing companies output declined by 0.1% in 2020. The industry basically ended up where it started.

Oil prices tell some of the story. Early last year, as the economy froze up and people stayed home, crude prices crashed, dragging chemical manufacturing companies prices down with them. Petrochemical volumes, however, were relatively strong because some products, such as polyethylene, saw an uptick in demand.

Indeed, COVID-19 affected the chemical manufacturing companies unevenly. For instance, chemical manufacturing companies that sell materials to aerospace and automotive customers were hit hard. But suppliers of materials for food packaging and personal protective equipment saw strong sales.

COVID-19 wasn’t the only theme for the year. Another one, not reflected in the data, was sustainability. Almost all chemical manufacturing companies are focused far more on environmental performance than they were just a few years ago.

For instance, more than a dozen members of the Global Top 50 have major plastics recycling initiatives. A similar number of companies are looking to make ammonia and hydrogen via water electrolysis rather than from natural gas. Still others are overhauling basic petrochemical processes to make them more energy efficient. Dow, Shell, Sabic, and BASF, for example, are developing ethylene crackers that run on renewable electricity.

Despite the year’s volatility, the survey was marked by few changes. Companies heavily laden with petrochemical operations generally saw declines in sales and fell in the ranking. Companies that make industrial gases or agricultural chemical manufacturing companies tended to rise.

Three companies in the Global Top 50 a year ago didn’t make it this year. Ecolab fell off the list because it divested an oil-field chemical manufacturing companies business.

Now that it is breaking out chemical manufacturing companiessales again, Shell rejoins the Global Top 50 this year after a 5-year hiatus. Rongsheng Petrochemical, which makes polyester chemicals, debuts this year. The former DowDuPont agricultural chemical manufacturing companies business, Echemi, made the cut as well.