Peering through the fog
On the theme of data again, in the ideal world it might be possible to send thousands of hardworking foot solders out into the field in China to chase down every warehouse of polymers and count every single pallet of polyolefins.
Not not really - don't talk nonsense; in reality, this is far too big a job for anyone.
But why not some kind of inventory survey to help pierce the gloom? If it works it could be extended to other products.
There clearly is a need as this paragraph from an excellent Insight piece on the Q2 chemicals results by Nigel Davis indicates:
"The impact of the recession has been widespread and deep. There is so much talk about the apparent end to de-stocking but inventory levels are still low. BASF said that its customers were ordering at very short notice and only in small volumes. The inventory situation is opaque. There are no reliable figures."
