Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 10 May.

NPE ’24: Plastics industry headwinds likely to persist through 2024
Headwinds for the plastics industry including higher cost of capital, weaker household spending momentum and capacity adjustments will likely persist through 2024, according to a presentation by Perc Pineda, Chief Economist at PLASTICS, at this year’s NPE show.

IPEX: April index rises for fourth month in a row on firmer pricing in northwest The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) was up 1.5% in April month on month as production constraints continue to push contract prices up across some commodities, mainly in northwest Europe and northeast Asia.

NPE ’24: SABIC eyes growth opportunities in Americas amid era of global overcapacity
SABIC is looking for further opportunities for growth in the Americas as part of its strategy to navigate an era of excess capacity around the world, one that has led it and other producers to shutter capacity in high-cost regions, an executive said.

Brazil’s Braskem deliveries safe despite Triunfo shutdown taking off third of capacity – CFO
Braskem will be able to deliver material to its customers from its other three sites in Brazil after it declared force majeure at its Triunfo complex following heaving flooding in the area, Brazilian polymers major CFO Pedro Freitas said on Thursday.

Brazil’s Indorama suspends operations at Triunfo, ports still closed, fertilizers demand to be hit
Brazil’s state of Rio Grande do Sul remains at a standstill from the floods, with Thai petrochemicals major Indorama’s subsidiary in the country also suspending operations at its Triunfo facilities, a spokesperson confirmed to ICIS.