Americas top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
13-Jan-2025
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 10 January.
Canada’s Trudeau resigns as prime
minister
Canada’s Justin Trudeau has resigned as prime
minister and Liberal Party leader, with the
country now set to head to the polls and
return the Conservative party back into
office.
Mitsubishi Chem cancels plans for US
MMA project
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) said on
Tuesday it has decided not to proceed with
its planned 350,000 tonne/year methyl
methacrylate (MMA) project at
Geismar, Louisiana.
INSIGHT: Wall Street kicks off new
year with 2025 earnings cuts for
chemicals
On Wall Street, hope springs eternal at the
beginning of a new year, and especially for
sectors that have underperformed in the past
year. But for chemicals, analysts are kicking
off the year with cuts to their 2025 profit
forecasts as a recovery in housing,
automotive and consumer durables appears to
be further off in the horizon.
UPDATE: Strike averted as ILA, ports
reach tentative agreement
Union dockworkers and US Gulf and East Coast
port operators tentatively agreed to a new
six-year contract Wednesday, averting a
strike that was about a week away.
INSIGHT: Mitsubishi cancels
ethylene-based US MMA project amid global
glut
A surge in new methyl methacrylate (MMA)
capacity in China will keep utilization rates
depressed during the next few years, even
with the recent decision by Mitsubishi
Chemical to cancel its proposed project in
the US.
SHIPPING: Asia-US container rates
still rising as tariff threat replaces strike
concerns
The tentative agreement between US
Gulf and East Coast ports and dockworkers has
taken some of the pressure off rates for
shipping containers from Asia to the US, but
the threat of tariffs proposed by
President-elect Donald Trump is likely to
support higher prices moving forward.
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