Japan ethylene production rises 1.3% in August

19 September 2008 11:28  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Japan increased production of ethylene by 1.3% to 606,200 tonnes in August compared with July as fewer crackers were shut down for maintenance, a local industry association said on Friday.

This was a a 4.9% decrease from the same time a year before, the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) added.

The total operating rate of the country’s ethylene crackers was 94.1% in August, down from 97.3% in July and also a decrease from 95.2% in August 2007, it added.

Two crackers were shut down for maintenance in August 2008 and 2007, while three crackers were undergoing turnarounds in July 2008, the association said.

Producers of most petrochemical products in Japan also reported higher output in August month on month

Among the 17 products other than ethylene, 13 chemicals including low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), benzene, toluene and mixed xylenes (BTX) had higher production compared with the previous month, JPCA said.

Compared with the year-ago period, 12 products including as LDPE, high density polyethylene (HDPE), PP, PS, benzene and toluene had lower output in August, JPCA added.

Exports of all four primary resins- LDPE, HDPE, PP and PS- in August were lower than the previous month, while only PS had higher exports year on year and continued to be strong, the association said.

Japan August chemical production

Product	output ('000 tonnes)	% change month on month	% change year on year
ethylene	606.2	1	-5
LDPE	147.7	2	-1
HDPE	85.6	-2	-14
PP	246.1	17	-4
PS	72.8	4	-9
styrene monomer	244	-6	-24
PVC	139.8	5	-16
vinyl chloride monomer	255.1	2	6
MMA monomer	48	13	0
ethylene oxide	78.4	16	6
ethylene glycol	59.6	37	3
acetaldehyde	24.3	-5	-28
ACN	51.8	-20	-15
SBR (solid)	44.2	8	3
butadiene rubber (solid)	23.4	33	-2
benzene	416.3	5	-10
toluene	126	4	-9
xylene	551.6	7	3

Source: JPCA

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