GLOBALLY some 75% of aluminium is recycled, 86% of steel and 40% of glass. Why shouldn’t the same levels of recycling eventually apply to some polymers? A good example here is HDPE which is already the second easiest polymer to recycle after PET resins. As sustainability pressures build on the polymers industry, it seems reasonable to assume […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Global recession approaches as chems data weakens, debt problems build
THE CHEMICALS industry is the “industry of industries” – upstream of all the manufacturing chains. This is why what is happening in chemicals serves as such an important early indicator. Take a look at the above chart – the latest from the American Chemistry Council. It shows that during September, capacity utilisation in the global […]
US equities risk following China as global debt bubble unwinds
THE CENTRAL character of The Big Short was the only person who bothered to read the detail of US mortgage debt securities that were at the heart of the Global Financial Crisis. All of us course now know that these securities were built on sub-prime debt that went wrong and almost caused the collapse of the global […]
US styrene another petchems sector at risk from trade war
By John Richardson THE US decision to pick a fight with China over trade and geopolitical influence could backfire very badly from the perspective of new US investments in petrochemicals capacity – most notably polyethylene (PE) and ethylene glycols (EG). The data tell is that many billions of dollars of investments in new plants will […]
US ethylene glycols: The Cost Of Exclusion From China
By John Richardson IF THE US were unable to export ethylene glycols (EG) to China the economic logic of US capacity expansions would face major challenges. Between 2018 and 2025, China will account for no less than 84% of global net imports (imports minus exports) amongst the major importing regions and countries. (For those who […]
PE Margins Fall As Trade War Threatens Two Entirely Separate Trading Blocks
By John Richardson LET’S FIRST of all take a close look at what the above chart is telling us about the damage already done to polyethylene (PE) margins before considering what could happen next. US high-density PE (HDPE) margins are 47% lower in the year-to-date versus to 2017 and low-density (LDPE) margins are 45% lower. […]
Why Trade War Will Continue Throughout 2019 And Impact On Polyethylene
By John Richardson A MISCALCULATION by the White House could be one of several reasons why the US/China trade war continues throughout 2019 – and possibly even beyond that. This is the idea that China is losing the trade war and so will soon be forced to the negotiating table with compromises that meet American […]
Don’t Forget Turkey And Its Importance To Global Polyolefins
By John Richardson YOU might well have forgotten the Turkish lira crisis because of the US/China trade war. But Turkey is crucial for the health of the global polyolefins business because of the size of its imports. Before the US fell out with Turkey, resulting in the collapse of the lira, we had expected that […]
US Risks Losing Access To 82% Of Global PE Consumption Growth, 80% Of Exports
By John Richardson PERHAPS this week’s low-level trade talks between the US and China shouldn’t only be judged on the basis that they are low level, involving officials of mid-level seniority who are therefore not empowered to achieve major breakthroughs. The talks on 22-23 August (23 August is when 25% Chinese polyethylene (PE) tariffs on […]
Turkey Crisis: Implications For Polyolefins And Global Economy
By John Richardson THE first ramification of the Turkey crisis is that the collapse of the lira raises questions over how Turkish importers will be able to afford the dollars to pay for some of the polyolefins imported since the crisis began. Then comes the issue of what happens to Turkish polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene […]