Japan June plastic feedstocks production rises 4.5% year on year

08 August 2011 13:14  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS)--Japan’s production of plastic feedstocks increased by 4.5% to 876,200 tonnes in June compared with the same period in 2010, because of fewer naphtha crackers being shut for maintenance, an official from the Japan Plastic Industry Federation (JPIF) said on Monday.

“Mitsubishi Chemical’s naphtha crackers [in Kashima] had already restarted by June, and there may have been some impacts of the [11 March] earthquake, but [the increase in production] was primarily due to the difference [in the numbers of crackers shut for] scheduled maintenance,” Tetsushi Suzuki said in Japanese at a press conference.

In June two crackers were undergoing scheduled maintenance, while four crackers were shut for turnarounds in the same period a year before, he said.

June’s production figures were a 0.6% increase on the previous month, according to official data from JPIF.

Among plastic feedstocks, production of polypropylene (PP) rose by 15% to 186,466 tonnes in June from the same period a year earlier, while epoxy resin output was up by 10% to 16,876 tonnes, the data showed.

A total of 245,025 tonnes of polyethylene (PE) was produced in June, the same level as the same time the previous year, while the output of methacrylates fell by 4.6% to 16,251 tonnes, according to the statistics.

Production of plastic products rose by 1.4% year on year to 480,200 tonnes in June, a 3.7% increase month on month, the association said.

Output of plastic parts for machinery and tools fell by 16% to 48,933 tonnes in June from June 2010, according to JPIF.

“Only this item shows a large decrease, but in April [production of plastic parts for machinery and tools] decreased 30.5% from the same time last year, and it was a 21.1% decrease year on year in May. [Production of] plastic parts for machinery and tools appears to be recovering,” Suzuki said.

Production of plastic pipes rose by 7.3% to 34,797 tonnes in June from the same time a year before, while output of plastic fittings rose by 19% year on year to 5,578 tonnes, the association said.

Japan exported a total of 293,195 tonnes of plastic feedstocks in June, down by 13% from the same time a year before, according to JPIF.

In value terms, exports totalled yen (Y) 84.1bn ($1.1bn) in June, a 9.2% decrease from the same time a year earlier, JPIF said.

Exports of plastic products fell by 6.5% year on year to 78,592 tonnes in June, which amounted to Y115.0bn in total – a 5% decrease from the same time a year before, the association said.

($1 = Y77.88)

For more on PP and PE visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Tomomi Yokomura
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