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Chemicals news

US chem groups urge Trump to support local production, cut red tape

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Chemical trade groups in the US urged President-Elect Donald Trump to pursue policies that would support more domestic production and provide regulatory certainty. “Chemistry enables affordable housing, reliable infrastructure and effective, modern healthcare technologies. It is not only the driving force behind everyday products like smartphones and computers, but it is also what helps keep our nation safe and less dependent on foreign countries," the American Chemistry Council (ACC) said in a statement congratulating Trump on his victory. “To meet that demand and protect America’s future, we will work with the Trump administration and new Congress to commit to policies that support growing domestic chemical production right here at home," the group said. The Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) also congratulated Trump and said it looked forward to working with the administration and Congress to provide regulatory certainty, strengthen chemical security and renew trade programs. The ACD did not specify the trade programs. However, the chemical industry has long advocated the revival of two programs, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). The GSP eliminated duties on thousands of products from more than 100 developing countries. The MTB temporarily reduced or suspended import tariffs on specific products. In regards to security, the ACC and the ACD have urged Congress to revive the nation's main anti-terrorism program for chemical sites, which is known as the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). The program helped the chemical industry protect their plants, warehouses and distribution centers from terrorist attacks. Because CFATS was a federal program, it discouraged the proliferation of individual state programs, which would have increased compliance costs. The ACD and the ACC have warned about the surge in regulations that occurred under the administration of US President Joe Biden. Many of them have provided the industry with little benefit while increasing compliance costs. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) also congratulated Trump. "The US needs strong refining, petrochemical and midstream energy industries, and that requires a policy environment that allows American energy to compete globally, innovate for consumers and extend US energy leadership and security for the betterment of the American people," said Chet Thompson, CEO of the AFPM. (adds AFPM's comments, paragraph 11)

06-Nov-2024

Brazil’s automotive October output up over 8% on healthy domestic sales, recovery in exports

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazil’s petrochemicals-intensive automotive sector posted in October its best sales since 2014 at nearly 265,000 units, the country’s trade group Anfavea said on Wednesday. Healthy sales at home propped up output, which stood at nearly 250,000 units during October and was also propped by overseas sales, with exports rising during the month, compared with September. Year-to-date in October, however, exports still register a negative reading of more than 7%, when compared with the same 10-month period of 2023, as key trading partners such as Argentina remain in financial trouble, reducing consumers’ purchases of Brazilian-manufactured vehicles. “Although this was the second-best month of the year in terms of production, we are still below the registrations, due to the high volume of imports,” said Anfavea’s president, Marcio de Lima, focusing on an issue – imports from China, specifically – which the trade group have been raising alarms for much of this year. In July, Anfavea said several producers with facilities in Brazil – most of them the traditional, established players – are pointing to an “uncontrolled” influx of cars manufactured overseas which are hitting domestic producers’ market share. China-produced vehicles, most of them electric or hybrid, are quickly gaining market share in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America. Anfavea called on the government to establish tariffs as other jurisdictions – the US or the EU – have done on China-manufactured vehicles. “Another good news in October was the increase of 7,000 direct jobs in the last 12 months, with the potential to generate another 70,000 jobs in the automotive chain. This is the indicator that makes us happiest, as we have great responsibility for the approximately 1.2 million workers in the automotive sector,” said De Lima. Brazil automotive October September Change January-October 2024 January-October 2023 Change Production 249,200 230,000 8.3% 2,123,400 1,950,600 8.9% Sales 264,900 236,300 12.1% 2,124,000 1,847,500 15% Exports 43,500 41,600 4.6% 327,800 354,200 -7.4% The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals, which make up more than one-third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle. The automotive sector drives demand for chemicals such as polypropylene (PP), along with nylon, polystyrene (PS), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane (PU), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

06-Nov-2024

Europe markets, chemicals trading chills as tariff fears grow

LONDON (ICIS)–Europe markets tumbled in afternoon trading on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains as the euro fell in value against the US dollar amid fears over the introduction of fresh tariff measures by the incoming US administration. A robust start to the day by Europe stock exchanges reversed course as trading continued. A speedy resolution to a US political fight that had been expected to be closer-fought and potentially take longer to be decided reassured investors, but a surging dollar and jitters over the potential for fresh duties on exports to Europe unsettled traders. Robust trading goosed stock valuations across Europe shortly after press called the election for Donald Trump, with bouses in Germany, France and the UK up 0.85%-1.15% That rally subsided over the course of the day as a surging dollar and tariff worries unsettled markets, with the value of the euro dropping 2 cents against the dollar, from $1.09:€1 on Tuesday evening to $1.07:€1 in afternoon trading on Wednesday. Germany’s DAX index was trading down 1.18% while France’s CAC 40 had shed 0.83% of its value and the UK FTSE 100 slumped 0.23% as of 16:13 GMT. Particularly hard-hit were German automaker stocks, with Volkswagen shares plunging 5.70%, Porsche down 4.54%, BMW plummeting 6.47% and Mercedes-Benz shares dropping 6.44% on fears of steeper tariffs on vehicle exports to the US. The new president-elect, the first person to win two non-consecutive terms in office, had spoken on the campaign trail of plans for additional import tariffs, particularly for China but also for Europe. Donald Trump has set out plans to impose tariffs of up to 20% on all external trading partners and 60% on products from China, which economics institute Ifo estimated could cost Germany-based businesses €33 billion per year if they are introduced. Germany-based chemicals trade body VCI on Wednesday stated that businesses in both Germany and the EU need to diversify trade flows along with improving international competitiveness, due to the prominence of the US as a destination. The US is Germany’s second-largest trading partner after the EU. “For firms, uncertainty over the US tariff regimes for their industry and the risk of retaliatory measures by policymakers elsewhere will clearly be a huge problem when forward planning,” said Oxford Economics director of global macro research Ben May. “This, combined with potentially higher borrowing costs, could be a strong disincentive to delay or cancel investment,” he added. US markets are substantially more bullish at present, with the Dow and Nasdaq trading up 3.15% and 2.02% as of 16:34. Canada exchanges booked more modest increases, while central and southern American exchanges fared worse, with the Brazil Stock Exchange Index and Mexico’s S&P/BMV IPC index trading down.

06-Nov-2024

INSIGHT: Trump to bring US chems more tariffs, fewer taxes, regulations

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US President-Elect Donald Trump has pledged to impose more tariffs, lower corporate taxes and lighten companies' regulatory burden, a continuation of what US chemical producers saw during his first term of office in 2016-2020. More tariffs could leave chemical exports vulnerable to retaliation because of their magnitude and the size of the global supply glut. Trump pledged to reverse the surge in regulations that characterized term of President Joe Biden. Lower corporate taxes could benefit US chems, but longer term, rising government debt could keep interest rates elevated and prolong the slump in housing and durable goods. MORE TARIFFSTrump pledged to add more tariffs to the ones he introduced during his first term as president, as show below. Baseline tariffs of 10-20%, mentioned during an August 14 rally in Asheville, North Carolina. Tariffs of 60% on imports from China. A reciprocal trade act, under which the US would match tariffs imposed on its exports. WHY TRADE POLICY MATTERS FOR CHEMICALSTrade policy is important to the US chemical industry because producers purposely built excess capacity to take advantage of cheap feedstock and profitably export material abroad. Such large surpluses leave US chemical producers vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs. The danger is heightened because the world has excess capacity of several plastics and chemicals, and plants are running well below nameplate capacity. At the least, retaliatory tariffs would re-arrange supply chains, adding costs and reducing margins. At the worst, the retaliatory tariffs would reach levels that would make US exports uncompetitive in some markets. Countries with plants running below nameplate capacity could offset the decline in US exports by raising utilization rates. Baseline tariffs would hurt US chemical producers on the import side. The US has deficits in some key commodity chemicals, principally benzene, melamine and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). In the case of benzene, companies will not build new refineries or naphtha crackers to produce more benzene. Buyers will face higher benzene costs, and those costs will trickle down to chemicals made from benzene. Tariffs on imports of oil would raise costs for US refiners because they rely on foreign shipments of heavier grades to optimize downstream units. The growth in US oil production is in lighter grades from its shale fields, and these lighter grades are inappropriate for some refining units. REGULATORY RELIEFUnder Trump, the US chemical industry should get a break from the surge in regulations that characterized the Biden administration. The flood led the Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) to call the first half of 2024 the worst regulatory climate ever for the chemical industry. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has warned about the dangers of excessive regulations and urged the Biden administration to create a committee to review the effects new proposals could have on existing policies. Trump said he would re-introduce his policy of removing two regulations for every new one created. Trump has a whole section of his website dedicated to what he called the "wasteful and job-killing regulatory onslaught". One plank of the platform of the Republican Party is to "cut costly and burdensome regulations". LOWER TAXES AT EXPENSE OF DEFICITTrump pledged to make nearly all of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent and add the following new tax cuts, according to the Tax Foundation, a policy think tank. Lower the corporate tax rate for domestic production to 15%. Eliminate green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Exempt tips, Social Security benefits and overtime pay from income taxes. At best, the resulting economic growth, the contributions from tariffs and cuts in government spending would offset the effects of the tax cuts. The danger is that the tariffs, the cuts and the growth growth are insufficient to offset the decline in revenue that results from the tax cuts. The Tax Foundation is forecasting the latter and expects that that the 10-year budget deficit will increase by $3 trillion. To fund the growing deficit, the US government will issue more debt, which will increase the supply of Treasury notes and cause their price to drop. Yields on debt are inversely related to prices, so rates will increase as prices drop. Economists have warned that a growing government deficit will maintain elevated rates for 10-year Treasury notes, US mortgages and other types of longer term debt. Higher rates have caused some selective defaults among chemical companies and led to a downturn in housing and durable goods, two key chemical end markets. If the US deficit continues to grow and if interest rates remain elevated, then more US chemical companies could default and producers could contend with a longer downturn in housing and durable goods. A second post-election insight piece, covering the future landscape for energy policy, will run on Thursday at 08:00 CST. Front page picture: The US Capitol in Washington  Source: Lucky-photographer Insight article by Al Greenwood

06-Nov-2024

UK's Viridor to close Avonmouth mechanical recycling plant

LONDON (ICIS)–UK-headquartered recycler Viridor intends to close its Avonmouth mechanical recycling facility following a strategic review, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday. The Avonmouth facility has a nameplate capacity of 80,000 tonnes/year of recycled polymers output concentrated on recycled polyolefins. Viridor is conducting a separate review of its Rochester mechanical recycling plant. The company attributed the decision to challenging market conditions, along with an absence of planned UK legislation to increase UK recycling rates. The company also cited low cost imports entering Europe and displacing domestic supply, echoing comments made by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) on 24 October. "If circular plastics are to thrive in Europe, then plant closures are damaging to that progress. However, Viridor has been restructuring over a period of time including selling their waste business. While this is a refocus for Viridor, it leaves the UK market with reduced supply of recycled polymers," said Helen McGeough, global analyst lead, plastics recycling, ICIS. Across both recycled polyethylene (R-PE) and recycled polypropylene (R-PP) players in recent weeks, recycled flake and pellet producers have complained of negative margins in non-packaging grades. While packaging demand in Europe has remained firmer than non-packaging across 2024 to date, and new packaging projects continue to onboard in Q4, there has been increasing bearishness in the sector since October as players focus on core business due to strained macroeconomic conditions. Viridor said it will continue to invest in polymer recycling through its Quantafuel subsidiary – which is focused on pyrolysis-based chemical recycling. ICIS assesses more than 100 grades throughout the recycled plastic value chain globally – from waste bales through to pellets. This includes recycled polyethylene (R-PE), recycled PET (R-PET), R-PP, mixed plastic waste and pyrolysis oil. On 1 October ICIS launched a recycled polyolefins agglomerate price range as part of the Mixed Plastic Waste and Pyrolysis Oil (Europe) pricing service. For more information on ICIS’ recycled plastic products, please contact the ICIS recycling team at recycling@icis.com Thumbnail photo: Sorting at a plastics recycling facility (Source: Shutterstock)

05-Nov-2024

PODCAST: Chemical leaders will look beyond US election result

BARCELONA (ICIS)–Market forces and long-term trends such as global overcapacity and sustainability will have more impact on chemical companies than who wins the US presidential election. Chemical companies driven more by long-term trends than government policy Consumer demand for more sustainable products will drive chemical markets US relies heavily on exports for its low-cost polymers Donald Trump promises to hike tariffs by 10-20% on all imports, 60% on Chinese imports Trump may ease US chemicals regulation, Kamala Harris may tighten Questions over investments in the green transition In this Think Tank podcast, Will Beacham interviews ICIS market development executive, Nigel Davis, and Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting. Editor’s note: This podcast is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the presenter and interviewees, and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS. ICIS is organizing regular updates to help the industry understand current market trends. Register here. Read the latest issue of ICIS Chemical Business. Read Paul Hodges and John Richardson's ICIS blogs.

05-Nov-2024

Saudi SABIC cuts 2024 capex; higher-margin investments eyed

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC has lowered its capital expenditure (capex) guidance for 2024 as it prioritizes investments in higher-margin opportunities to mitigate overcapacity in the face of poor global demand. Full-year capex cut to $3.3 billion to $3.9 billion Future capex to focus on China, low-carbon projects Margins to remain under pressure for rest of 2024 SABIC reduced its full-year capex by about 25% to between $3.3 billion and $3.9 billion, from $4 billion and $5 billion previously, it said in its third-quarter earnings report released on 4 November. The new capex projection comes after SABIC swung to net profit of Saudi riyal (SR) 1 billion ($267 million) in Q3, from a loss of SR2.88 billion in the same period of last year. This turnaround is primarily due to higher operating income, driven by improved gross profit margins and a divestment gain from the firm's functional forms business. Q3 losses from discontinued operations, mainly related to the Saudi Iron and Steel Co (Hadeed), decreased significantly from the same period last year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, SABIC net profit fell by 54% mostly due to previous Q2 non-cash gains partly resulting from new regulations on Islamic tax. The reversal of zakat provision, which is a mandatory Islamic tax on wealth, resulted in a non-cash benefit of SR545 million in Q2 2024. SABIC registered a Q3 zakat expense of SR397 million. FOCUS ON CHINA Ratings firm Fitch in a note said that it expects SABIC's capex to grow to an average of SR17 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2024-2025 and around SR14 billion in 2026-2027. "In our view, investments will be driven by expansion of its low carbon product portfolio and a pipeline of opportunities in China and the Middle East," it said. This includes the recently sanctioned $6.4 billion joint venture petrochemical complex in Fujian, China, as well as the construction of the largest on-purpose single train methyl tertiary butyl ethe (MTBE) plant in the world in Saudi Arabia," Fitch said. SABIC is exploring options for a petrochemical complex in Oman and an oil-to-chemicals project in Ras Al-Khair in its home country, according to the ratings firm. Fitch also expects acceleration of "green capex" after 2025 as SABIC plans to earmark 10% of its annual expenditures on carbon-neutrality initiatives by 2030. "The key projects will be focused on improved energy efficiencies, increased use of renewable energy in operations, and carbon capture of up to a potential 2 million tonnes, leveraging Saudi Aramco's carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub in Jubail," Fitch said. SABIC, which is 70% owned by oil giant Aramco, had stated in August that its long-term focus would remain on optimizing its portfolio and restructuring underperforming assets. PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION AMID MARKET CHALLENGES SABIC CEO Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh said on 4 November that overcapacity continues to weigh on the petrochemicals market, with current utilization rates remaining below long-term averages. "Furthermore, PMI [manufacturing purchasing managers’ index] data indicated a decline in global economic conditions," he added. The company has initiated several portfolio-optimization measures, including discontinuing its naphtha cracker in the Netherlands and disposals of non-core assets such as its steel unit Hadeed in 2023 and a recently announced divestments of 20% shareholding in Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). SABIC's margins are expected to remain under pressure this year before they gradually recover to mid-cycle levels of around 20% by 2026 on market improvement and portfolio-optimization measures, according to Fitch. ($1 = SR3.75) Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman

05-Nov-2024

Latin America stories: weekly summary

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Here are some of the stories from ICIS Latin America for the week ended on 1 November. Brazil’s chemicals trade deficit keeps rising; producers entrust recovery to higher tariffsBrazilian chemicals producers’ market share continued to be threatened in the January-September period, with the industry’s trade deficit rising to $36.2 billion, up 1% year on year, the country’s chemicals producers trade group Abiquim said this week. Brazil’s chemicals output up 2% in September, plastics and rubber up 6.5%Brazil’s chemicals output rose by 2% in September, year on year, although it fell compared with August by 2.7%, the country’s statistics office IBGE said on Friday. Brazil's manufacturing keeps momentum in October, export orders robustBrazil's petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing sectors continued expanding in October, the tenth consecutive month of growth, analysts at S&P Global said on Friday. Mexico’s manufacturing recovers slightly in October but poor demand keeps it contractionMexico's petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing sectors continued to contract in October, although it slightly improved its performance month on month, analysts at S&P Global said on Friday. Colombia’s manufacturing output booms in October, central bank cuts rates to 9.75%Colombia's petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing sectors made a decisive return to growth in October on the back of a healthy increase in new business, analysts at S&P Global said on Friday. Brazil’s chemical producer prices up nearly 11% in SeptemberBrazil’s chemicals producer prices rose in September by nearly 11%, year on year, as the sector recovers, the country’s statistics office IBGE said this week. Mexico’s GDP recovers strongly in Q3, more rate cuts dependent on US election – analystsMexico’s GDP grew by 1% in Q3, quarter on quarter, confirming the economy “pulled out of the slump” of the first half of the year, analysts said on Wednesday. Brazil's Braskem Q3 resin sales down 2% due to higher PE and PVC stocksResin sales in Braskem's domestic market dropped by 2% in Q3 year on year, mainly due to the higher levels of polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) stocks in the transformation chain, the Brazilian petrochemicals major said on Wednesday in its quarterly production and sales report. Brazil Petrobras to continue advancing nitrogen project in Tres LagoasBrazil producer Petrobras announced that its board of directors has decided to continue implementing the nitrogen fertilizer unit (UFN-III), located in Tres Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul. PRICINGDomestic, international PE prices steady to lower on falling US export offersDomestic, international polyethylene (PE) prices were assessed as steady to lower across Latin American countries on the back of competitive offers from the US. Domestic PP prices fall in Colombia, Mexico on lower feedstocksDomestic polypropylene (PP) prices fell in Colombia and Mexico tracking lower feedstock costs. US October propylene contracts settled at a decrease on falling spot prices. Brazil hydrous ethanol sees small rise, anhydrous stays steadyPrices for hydrous ethanol saw a slight increase at the lower end of the range, with demand demonstrating stable sales in Q4. Chile and Colombia PET CFR prices decline amid Asia price reductionsChile and Colombia's CFR prices fell on the lower end of the range reflecting the recent price reduction in Asia.

04-Nov-2024

BLOG: The polls may be close, but Harris or Trump could still win by a landslide

LONDON (ICIS)–Click here to see the latest blog post on Chemicals & The Economy by Paul Hodges, which looks at the upcoming US election. Editor’s note: This blog post is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS. Paul Hodges is the chairman of consultants New Normal Consulting.

04-Nov-2024

Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 1 November. SHIPPING: Union, US East Coast ports to resume negotiations in November Union dock workers and US East Coast port operators will resume negotiations on a new master agreement in November, according to a joint statement from both parties. Canada dock workers to launch new strike on Thursday Dock workers at the Port of Montreal in Canada will go on an indefinite strike at two container terminals, starting Thursday, 31 October, 11:00 local time, labor union and industry officials confirmed. INEOS Styrolution announces closure of US Ohio ABS facility In the ICIS news story headlined "INEOS Styrolution announces closure of US Ohio ABS facility" dated 30 October 2024, please see corrected figures in paragraph 8. INSIGHT: Harris v Trump – how the US presidential election could impact chemicals and energy markets Note: This is part two of this article. Click here to read part one. With around a week to go, all eyes are turned to the US presidential elections as the race heats up. LyondellBasell may make 2026 FID on US chemical recycling plant LyondellBasell could make a final investment decision (FID) in 2026 on a second chemical recycling plant, which it may build in the US at its refinery site in Houston, the CEO said on Friday.

04-Nov-2024

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