By John Richardson FOR the moment all is good, as the chart above illustrates, which details the premiums that C6 metallocene-grade linear-low density (LLDPE) have enjoyed over standard commodity grade C4 LLDPE in the key China market. The October 2010 start date in the chart is when we began our C6 assessment (we don’t assess […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Oil Prices, Chemicals Markets Face Steep Declines
By John Richardson THERE are three things you need to know about today’s global chemicals markets: Oil prices are now retreating back to quite probably below $30/bbl, and so of course there will be a chemicals destocking process. But the good news, if you can call it that, is that the destocking process won’t be […]
China’s Gasoline Export Surge Was Entirely Predictable
By John Richardson WHEN it first became apparent earlier this year that China was aggressively expanding diesel exports, we were told not to worry as this was said to merely reflect the replacement of China’s old economy with its new economy. “It is simply a case of industrial production and investment slowing down, which has […]
US Auto Sales: Recovery? What Real Recovery?
By John Richardson IF you look at last year’s US auto sales in isolation, the plan to transform the fortunes of economically struggling Wilkes County in North Carolina makes every bit of sense. In 2015, 17.5m vehicles were sold in the US, higher than the previous all-time peak year for sales in 2000. Government and […]
Chemicals Companies Need Security Of Demand
By John Richardson MUCH of the focus of last week’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Singapore once again seemed to be about feedstock advantage. This included several charts ranking the competitiveness of the three major categories of ethylene producers – naphtha-based, ethane-based and coal-based – in low, medium and high future oil price scenarios. This has […]
US Water Crisis: Be Part Of The Solution, Not The Problem
By John Richardson IT SHOULD be pretty obvious to all of us that there is a huge gap in the provision of basic needs in the emerging world. Just look, for example, at the some 2.3bn people who in 2015 still lacked access to modern sanitation, according to the World Bank. The vast majority of […]
The Two Different Chinas: Outcome Remains Uncertain
By John Richardson THIS year’s “sugar high” was always going to be that exactly that – if you look at the right data. The staggering increase in China’s total credit in Q1 2016 over the first quarter of last year –by as much as 58% – was only ever going to deliver a mild, and unsustainable, […]
Go Where The Money Is: Sanitation And Water
By John Richardson HOW do you define global progress? Is it the number of extra people each year who are able to afford to buy a smartphone, or is it the number of additional people who are given access to modern sanitation? The thing is that ownership of smartphones will soon reach ceiling until or […]
Sitting On The Fence Involves Choosing Failure
By John Richardson IF you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. So the choice today is yours. If you remain on the fence, still unsure about whether the end of the Supercycle is real or not, you will be no different to those who say that the fundamentals that govern the chemicals industry haven’t changed. […]
The End Of The Economic Supercycle: What To Do Next
By John Richardson THE above infographic explains the end of the economic Supercycle: •During the 1980s/1990s, the BabyBoomers – the largest and wealthiest generation that the world has ever seen – entered the Wealth Creator generation (those aged 25 – 54), when income and spending peak •They powered the SuperCycle. •The world’s largest economy, the […]
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