Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 14 May.

Covestro seeks May increase on North American MDI, TDI and polyether polyols
Covestro is seeking a price increase of 20 cents/lb ($441/tonne) on all methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-based products, 15 cents/lb on all polyether polyol products and 10 cents/lb on all toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-based products as of 14 May, according to a customer letter.

Colonial Pipeline continues to restore lines, goal of substantially restored service by end of week
Colonial Pipeline continues to bring segments of its pipeline system back online in a stepwise fashion, the company said in its latest statement.

Renewables to be bulk of energy capacity growth 2021-22 – IEA
Renewables are expected to account for 90% of total global capacity increases in both 2021 and 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s report published on Tuesday.

LyondellBasell to take plastics recycling global with new investments – CEO
LyondellBasell aims to significantly expand its footprint in both mechanical and molecular (chemical) recycling of waste plastics on a global basis with the US, China and eventually India the next targets, its CEO said on Tuesday.

India crisis hits global crude demand expectations – IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday cut its global crude oil demand growth expectations for 2021 because of the coronavirus crisis in India, while refinery output is expected to ramp up in the next few months.

No relief in sight for US nylon market
Participants looking for relief from supply constraints that have plagued the US nylon market this year may have to wait until the third quarter if not longer.

INTERVIEW: Reopening demand, low inventories to flatten PE, PP cycle – LyondellBasell CEO
A surge in demand from economies reopening along with lack of major new capacity in the US and Europe in the coming years should result in a flattening of the cycle for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), the CEO of LyondellBasell said.

US Colonial Pipeline begins restart of pipeline system after cyberattack
US-based Colonial Pipeline initiated the restart of pipeline operations Wednesday afternoon and warned it will take several days for the product delivery chain to return to normal after halting all operations on 7 May because of a cyberattack.

Backlog of vessels, barges surges as Mississippi river blockage continues in the US
Vessel traffic on the Mississippi river in the US remained suspended on Thursday as government officials continue to assess the interstate highway bridge spanning the waterway after a crack was detected earlier in the week.

High global chemicals prices may stoke downstream inflation
Rising chemical prices around the world may be helping to stoke inflation in downstream industrial production and consumer goods.