Yet more gloom - the world's second-biggest economy appears to be slowing down as the effects of the sub-prime crisis spread.
What will this mean for Japan's chemical industry, which in the first half of the current financial year suffered badly from the highly cylical electronic chemicals sector?
All will, of course, hinge on the extent of the slowdown in the US economy.
What's clear is that nobody will envy Shinetsu's position next year, when it's due to bring on stream new PVC capacity in Louisiana.
