THE CHEMICALS AND polymers world is behaving in ways that our industry has probably never seen before. A good example are the relationships between European and Chinese PE pricing
Asian Chemical Connections
New supply chain problems prolong the big HDPE divide as imbalances build
By John Richardson WHEN POLYETHYLENE (PE) and polypropylene (PP) markets become truly global again remains anyone’s guess. But what’s clear in my view is that rebalancing must take place at some point, The chart below, using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) margins as an example, illustrates the extent of the disconnect between different regions. The chart shows […]
China polyolefins demand declines accelerate as supply chains remain the key challenge
By John Richardson ONE OF THE golden rules that has nearly always applied over the last 20 years is that you never bet against the Chinese economy. Time and again, the doom mongers have been proved embarrassingly wrong. But we now have enough data and anecdotal evidence from 2021 to conclude that the deceleration in […]
China petrochemicals overstocking likely substantial as Q1 slowdown risks increase
By John Richardson THE ABOVE chart on the left – showing average month-on-month percentage increases in China’s polypropylene (PP) imports in 2009-2019 versus the pattern in 2020 – underlines my argument that the production and export-led recovery that China enjoyed last year was part of a government plan. You can see the same pattern in […]
Ethylene Freight Rates Head For Collapse
“If I didn’t care what happens to you….” Source of picture: www.sydbarrett.com By John Richardson AS many as 25 new ethylene vessels could be in operation by 2013 as a result of what one shipping industry source told the blog was “irresponsible shipping brokers and consultants talking up the market”. He predicted that the […]
Asian Polyolefins Face Two-Year Freight Squeeze
Container Freight Rates: Luck Before Brains Source of picture: blogs.princeton.edu By John Richardson ASIA’S polyolefin industry is facing additional pressure from new Middle East capacity due to higher freight rates from the Middle East to Europe, the blog has been told. This is also contributing to tighness in European polyolefin markets, we also understand. Increased freight rates in […]
Turkish Polyolefins Confront Tight Credit, China Uncertainty
Source of picture: www.turkeytravel.com By John Richardson THE economic crisis continues to force the global chemicals industry to think on its feet due to, among many other things, persistently tight credit in some regions. China has also become even more of an important market with every rumour and counter-rumour about levels of demand there […]