Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the 10 stocks we'll discuss today are the highest rated in the chemicals industry.

CAPS contains more than just the crowd's opinions. The votes of CAPS' best-performing members, known as All-Stars, count more in shaping each company's rating than do the picks of their poorer-performing peers. That way, the highest-rated companies aren't just the most popular companies in the industry -- in this case PotashCorp (NYSE: POT) -- but are the best of the best. You can then intelligently use members' collective wisdom to make better decisions and find hidden treasures you may never have otherwise heard of.

The chemical industry has been growing in line with the economy, but certain pockets are doing very well. Both DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) have seen large growth in prices in titanium dioxide sales, leading to 32% and 17% growth in sales, respectively. In the agribusiness sector, Mosaic sees strong demand ahead. That's also good news for competitors Terra Nitrogen (NYSE: TNH) and CVR Partners (NYSE: UAN), which have both posted some good results (see Terra's and CVR's results). Mosaic is planning to increase its capacity by 60% over the next 10 years.

The highest-rated chemical stock is ...
It's not always the best-knowm stocks that are ranked highest. Looking at the aggregate data, we see that our community rates Chase (AMEX: CCF) above the rest -- and for good reason. As CAPS player nuni0501 wrote:

Terrific but conservative management, stock heavily owned by family and a few institutions. Recent profitability breakthrough as all divisions are hitting on all cylinders.

Here are the rest of the 10 highest-rated companies in the industry, along with their CAPS ratings

Rank
Company
CAPS Rating (out of 5)
Market Cap (in Millions)
1 Chase ***** $119
2 A. Schulman ***** $627
3 Koppers Holdings ***** $701
4 Methanex ***** $2,198
5 LyondellBasell Industries ***** $20,219
6 Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (NYSE: SQM) ***** $15,384
7 Balchem ***** $1,189
8 HB Fuller ***** $1,070
9 Innospec ***** $693
10 Westlake Chemical ***** $2,903

Source: Motley Fool CAPS as of Nov. 7, 2011.

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