Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 26 April.

LyondellBasell sees continued PE momentum in North America, Europe – CEO
Polyethylene (PE) demand in North America and Europe should continue to improve in Q2 and through H2 with consistently healthy demand in packaging, the CEO of LyondellBasell said on Friday.

Eastman eyes 2027 startup for second US methanolysis plant, French project timing uncertain
Eastman expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) on its second US methanolysis (chemical recycling) plant in Q3, CEO Mark Costa and CFO Willie McLain told analysts during the company’s Q1 earnings call on Friday.

Dow sees ‘meaningful’ H2 recovery on PE margins, steady demand improvement – CFO
Dow continues to expect a strong second half, mainly driven by higher integrated polyethylene (PE) margins, with Q2 sales also expected to trend higher versus the first half in all three of its segments, its chief financial officer said on Thursday.

INSIGHT: Latin America’s nascent EV market increasingly a Chinese affair
Latin America’s take-up of electric vehicles (EVs) has started to gain momentum, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) this week, with Chinese producers drawing customers with sharply lower prices than western, established brands.

Canada moves ahead with plastics registry as UN plastics pollution session starts in Ottawa
Following the conclusion of a consultation period, Canada’s federal government has published a formal notice in the Canada Gazette for its planned Federal Plastics Registry.

Styrolution Sarnia closure further tightens North America styrene market
INEOS Styrolution’s decision this past weekend to temporarily close its Sarnia, Ontario, styrene unit will further tighten a market already dealing with several outages. Prices are under upward pressure with contract prices the highest since Q3 2023.