The blog has been in the USA this week, speaking at the bi-annual Global Coatings Summit. Coatings sales are worth $75bn globally, and are a key market for chemicals. Interestingly, much of the discussion centred around sustainability. In spite of the downturn, it is clear that consumers are now very focused on carbon footprint as […]
Chemicals and the Economy
New Normal workshop in Singapore next month
Major changes are underway in demand patterns for chemicals and polymers. They are being driven by demographics. The ‘BabyBoomers’ (those people born between 1946-70 in the major industrial countries) are the richest, and largest, generation the world has ever seen: • As they entered the 25 – 54 age group, they caused an explosion of […]
Shared Value can unleash next wave of global growth
GE’s then CEO, Jack Welch, launched the Shareholder Value concept in 1981. It has since led many investors to adopt a purely short-term focus on financial metrics, rather than longer-term opportunities. The only problem is that, as Welch admitted 2 years ago, it was “a dumb idea“. Now, one of the world’s great management thinkers, […]
New White Paper now available
We face more uncertainty today than I have ever seen over the past 30 years. Will last year’s strong performance in terms of profit continue? Or will higher oil prices ruin the party? Might China’s demand slow, as the government there worries about rising inflation? How will European demand be impacted as governments switch from […]
New White Paper for New Year
The blog’s 2 White Papers have proved enormously popular this year. More than 10000 copies have been downloaded around the world. They focused on the New Normal. This reflected the blog’s belief that the current recovery is not taking us back to the 2003-7 Boom period. Instead, it is taking us forward to a world […]
Global chemical operating rates stay at 85%
October is usually a seasonally strong month for chemical production. Factories are back from the summer holidays, and working flat out to meet orders before the Christmas and Lunar New Year breaks. So it is a bit disappointing that, as the above chart from the American Chemistry Council shows, operating rates (OR%) actually slipped slightly […]
US auto market enters the New Normal
US auto sales have slowed again. We seem certain to end 2010 at the bottom end of last year’s forecasts for demand, which ranged between 11.5m – 12.5m. This seems the main conclusion from analysing November’s sales figures. The blog has developed the new presentation above, showing sales by month since 2005, to assist comparison […]
US sales slip as inventories rise
The US is 25% of the global economy, and its performance matters enormously to the chemical industry. So it was good news that US GDP growth stabilised at 2% in Q3, versus the 1.7% level of Q2. But the underlying trends during 2010 are worrying, as the above chart shows: • Sales growth (blue line) […]
The $96m phone call
In the Boom period, it was the investment bankers who used to walk away with telephone number fees, after convincing a CEO to go after an acquisition ‘opportunity’. Now, in another sign of the New Normal, it is a former quality control manager who has become $96m richer, after making a ‘whistleblower’ call to GlaxoSmithKline’s […]
China’s rural areas key for future chemical demand
In the last of its Budget Outlook analysis, the blog today looks at the major changes underway in China. These are typical of many emerging economies, including India, and could potentially have a big impact on chemical demand. The key issue is that China’s leadership has recognised the current export-driven development model no longer works. […]
Jump to page: