US basic chemical and synthetic materials output rises 0.8% in May

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US basic chemical and synthetic materials production rose 0.8% month on month in May to 37.25m tonnes.

May’s increase, following a 1.9% decline in April and a 4.4% gain in March, reflects typical seasonal factors, said ICIS senior economist Kevin Swift who compiled and analysed the data.

Full recovery has not been reached in many segments and capacity utilisation remains low as additional capacity comes on-stream, Swift said.

Year on year, overall production volumes were off 3.3% from May 2021.

In terms of major segments, Swift made the following points about May production:

• Inorganic chemicals rose as chlor-alkali production further recovers. Pigments and other inorganic chemicals output grew strongly.
• The output of bulk petrochemicals fell back again.
• Production of downstream organic chemicals improved.
• Plastics resin production featured a solid gain as did synthetic rubber.
• Downstream plastics processing output eased again, but downstream tyres and rubber products output expanded at a good pace for a second month.
• Output in the textiles complex was stable, but manufactured fibres output gained during the month.

“Since the COVID-19 recession, the recovery has largely been V-shaped, with some interruptions, largely due to weather events,” the economist said.

Inventories have gained in recent months.

“Many risks abound. Most notable are demand destruction, energy, and geo-political risks as well as the potential for policy mistakes,” he said

PRODUCTION (Thousands of Metric Tonnes)	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Total Basic Chemicals & Synthetic Materials	36,108	37,694	36,962	37,254
Inorganic Chemicals	8,228	8,709	8,709	9,027
Chlorine & Other Alkalies	2,601	2981	2736	2956
Pigments	115	116	120	123
Other Inorganic Chemicals	5,512	5,612	5,853	5,948
Petrochemicals & Organic Chemicals	23,412	24,095	23,500	23,313
Bulk Petrochemicals	5,117	5,781	5,552	5,653
Other Organic Chemicals	18,295	18,314	17,948	17,660
Plastic Resins	3,838	4,231	4,086	4,225
Synthetic Rubber	336	364	355	366
Manufactured Fibres	294	294	312	323
CAPACITY (Thousands of Metric Tonnes)
Total Basic Chemicals & Synthetic Materials	53,592	53,619	53,649	53,680
Capacity Utilisation (%)	67.0%	69.7%	68.9%	68.9%

(Source: Kevin Swift)

PRODUCTION (% Change)	M/M Apr	M/M May	Y/Y May	YTD May
Total Basic Chemicals & Synthetic Materials	-1.9	0.8	-3.3	7.1
Inorganic Chemicals	0.0	3.7	9.2	4.1
Petrochemicals & Organic Chemicals	-2.5	-0.8	-8.7	7.9
Plastic Resins	-3.4	3.4	2.1	8.4
Synthetic Rubber	-2.5	3.1	18.4	16.1
Manufactured Fibres	5.8	3.5	16.2	8.3
CAPACITY (% Change)
Total Basic Chemicals & Synthetic Materials	0.1	0.1	0.5	0.5

(Source: Kevin Swift)