Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 6 September.

Brazil’s manufacturing sharply slows in August on higher costs, lower demand
Brazil’s manufacturing PMI index for August sharply slowed down from July on the back of output falling for the first time in several months due to subdued sales, and elevated cost pressures, analysts at S&P Global said on Monday.

INSIGHT: Brazil’s natgas overhaul to benefit chems but crude players push indispensable
The Brazilian government’s decree changing natural gas regulations could potentially overhaul the market and, along the way, benefit the chemicals industry by providing it with cheaper energy and eventually with ethane-based feedstocks.

INSIGHT: LatAm chemicals needs to be as plural as society to reach full sales potential
For years, Latin American petrochemicals companies have been trying to increase diversity within to better represent the consumers they want to sell their products to – without much success.

Canada government wobbles amid fallout from rail labor dispute
Canada’s Liberal-led minority government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying a heavy price for its decision last month to end the labor dispute at freight railroads Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) through binding arbitration.

SHIPPING: Union, USWC ports at impasse as strike deadline looms; container rates keep falling
A strike by union dock workers at East Coast and US Gulf ports seems more likely after International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Wage Scale Delegates voted unanimously at the end of their two-day meeting to support leadership’s intentions to walk off the job if a new labor deal is not agreed to when the contract expires on 30 September.