The smartphone sales decline accelerated in Q1, as Strategy Analytics report: “Global smartphone shipments fell 17% to reach 275m in Q1. This is the smartphone industry’s worst quarterly performance of all time. On an annualised basis, as the chart shows, global volume was down 12% to 1.36bn from the Q3 2017 peak. And, of course, […]
Chemicals and the Economy
China’s plastic ban and recycling launch marks end of ‘business as usual’ for plastics industry
Paradigm shifts start slowly at first, and it is easy to miss them. But then one day, they suddenly become obvious, and it becomes a scramble to catch up. That’s what happened on the waste plastic issue last week, when China decided to take action. As official news agency, Xinhua, reported: “The policy measures proposed […]
Automakers face stiff headwinds in big emerging markets
Brazil, Russia, India and China disappoint as manufacturers face investment demands of EVs © Bloomberg Less than a third of China’s 31,000 auto dealers were profitable in the first half of 2019, as I describe in my latest post for the Financial Times, published on the BeyondBrics blog Auto markets in the Bric countries are […]
Portugal shows the way to climate neutrality by 2050
Portugal shows the way to climate neutrality by 2050
The next billion phone users will be buying $10 smart feature phones, not $1000 iPhones
Smartphone sales plateaued in Q3, down 9% since Q3 2017’s peak of 1.55bn, as the chart shows. But the bigger threat from smart feature phones – now retailing for as little as $11 – continues to grow as Reliance and Vodacom launch new models in India and Africa. Smartphone sales are also seeing important shifts […]
Companies ignore the Perennials 55+ generation at their peril
Nearly a third of the the world’s High Income population are now in the Perennials 55+ generation. Yet companies mostly ignore their needs – assuming that all they want are walking sticks and sanitary pads. Instead, they continue to focus on the relatively declining number of younger people. No wonder many companies are going bankrupt, and […]
Auto markets set for major disruption as Electric Vehicle sales reach tipping point
Major disruption is starting to occur in the world’s largest manufacturing industry. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will likely be lost in the next few years in auto manufacturing and its supply chains, as consumers move over to Electric Vehicles (EVs). As the chart from Idaho National Laboratory confirms, EVs have relatively few parts – […]
Smartphone sales continue their decline, whilst $25 smart feature phones open up new markets
Global smartphone sales have now been falling for 8 consecutive quarters, since Q3 2017. They are now down 9% from their peak, as the chart shows, based on Strategy Analytics data. As always in a falling market, Winners and Losers are staring to appear: LOSERS Apple’s market share fell to its lowest level for 10 […]
Smartphone market decline begins to impact global stock markets
The bad news continues for the world’s smartphone manufacturers and their suppliers. And President Trump’s decision to add a 25% tariff on smartphone component imports from China from June 25 is unlikely to help. Morgan Stanley estimate it will add $160 to the current US iPhone XS price of $999, whilst a state-backed Chinese consumer boycott […]
There’s a great future for the European plastics industry in recycled plastic
Europe’s plastics industry is under major threat from the growing legislative and consumer backlash against plastic packaging. As with the global industry, its licence to operate is increasingly challenged by images of plastic rubbish polluting the world’s oceans, alongside photos of baby fish dying because their parents mistakenly fed them plastic instead of food. EU […]
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