Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 20 July:

UK Venator may buy Cristal TiO2 plant in US
Venator Materials may acquire Cristal’s pigment plant in Ohio under an agreement it signed with Tronox, the UK- and US-based titanium dioxide (TiO2) producers each said on Monday.

Mexico PTA plant fire further disrupts tight Americas PET market
A fire that broke out on Sunday at Alpek’s (Petrotemex) 1m tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Altamira, Mexico is expected to further disrupt the already-tight downstream polyethylene terephthalate (PET) markets in the Americas.

US PE prices face some downward pressure in H2 on longer supply
The US polyethylene (PE) market may come under pressure in the second half of the year because of longer supply, after prices remained at higher-than-expected levels.

US glycerine market finely balanced in H2 2018
The US glycerine markets are seeing finely balanced supply/demand dynamics as the second half of 2018 ramps up.

Alpek expects Mexico PTA restart in four to eight weeks
Alpek estimates that it will be able to restart its Petrotemex purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in four to eight weeks following a 15 July fire, CEO Jose Valdez said on the Mexican company’s second-quarter conference call on Thursday.

INTERACTIVE: US PET markets shaken again, this time by Mexico PTA fire
A tight US polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market is facing yet another test after a fire shut down Alpek’s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Altamira, Mexico.