The short and medium-term challenges
Asian Chemical Connections
China’s LLDPE Net Imports in 2025-2035: Three Scenarios That Could Reshape Global Trade
China’s average annual net LLDPE imports in 2025-2035 could be either 4.5m tonnes or 0.3m tonnes.
As you plan for 2025, a reminder of the big shift in market fundamentals
IT IS the gap between earlier expectations of China’s chemicals demand growth and the new growth realities that largely explain record levels of global oversupply.
China’s demographic crisis: Implications for polymers demand
The light blue bars show the impact of a Dire Demographics scenario on China’s polymers demand
A murky future for China’s exports: Implications for chemicals
GEOPOLITICS, reshoring and sustainability combine to make the outlook for Chinese exports very cloudy
The US is winning in China in today’s HDPE world but what about tomorrow?
THE US is winning in the key China market because of feedstock advantages in a lower-price environment. But future trade flows will likely be shaped by geopolitics, demographics, debts and sustainability
Global HDPE, the value of facts over commentary and the importance of scenario planning
Global HDPE capacity would have to grow by just 173,000 tonnes a year versus our base case assumption of 2.6m tonnes a year to achieve a 2024-2030 operating rate of 88%.
Latest China PP data: The old Supercycle world retreats further into the past
The major PP exporters to China continue their sales turnover shrink on rising self-sufficiency weak pricing and poor demand growth
China events suggest no global petchems recovery until 2026
Capacity growth of just 1.6m tonnes a year versus our base case of 5m tonnes a year would require substantial capacity closures in some regions. Closures are never easy and so take considerable time because of links with upstream refineries, environmental clean-up and redundancy costs – and the reluctance to be the “first plant out” in case markets suddenly recover.
China’s petrochemicals capacity growth: A new normal of much greater uncertainty
UNDERSTANDING what was going to happen next with petrochemicals capacity additions in China used to be easy. Now we are in a world of muddle and ambiguity.