Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 2 November.

Low Rhine levels plunge Europe olefins market into logistical chaos
Low water levels on the River Rhine continue to strain logistics in the European ethylene and propylene markets, with further derivative issues last week exacerbating the already-fraught situation.

Borealis to ‘more than quadruple’ its plastics recycling by 2025
Borealis has committed to increasing its recycled plastics volumes by more than fourfold by 2025, as part of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which the Austrian polymers and fertilizers major signed.

BASF faces PS and EPS production issues, order cancellations at Ludwigshafen site
BASF have had to undergo production cutbacks and either delay or cancel sizeable orders for general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) at its Ludwigshafen site amid persistent, historically low Rhine water levels severely affecting logistics, sources said.

UK to tax plastic packaging with less than 30% of recycled content
The UK government plans to introduce a tax on produced or imported plastic packaging that does not include at least 30% of recycled content.

Spain’s chems sales, output to slow down in 2019 on crude prices, trade war and Brexit
Spain’s chemicals are expected to suffer a slowdown in 2019 on the back of the threats related to higher crude oil prices, the US-China trade war and the UK’s departure from the EU, the country’s chemicals trade group FEIQUE said.

Clariant earnings to ‘significantly’ increase on performance materials tie-up with SABIC – CFO
The planned high performance materials joint venture between Clariant and stakeholder SABIC is expected to “significantly” increase its earnings, as the Switzerland-based producer seeks to pivot to a higher-margin portfolio, its CFO said.

Europe IPA spot range widens on Rhine logistics issues
European isopropanol (IPA) spot price ranges have widened as the critically low levels on the River Rhine are affecting some areas more than others.

UK plastic tax dependent on recyclates supply, ‘caution’ needed – BPF
The UK government should exercise “caution” with proposals to tax plastic packaging with less than 30% of recycled content, as both recycling infrastructure and recyclates intake would need to improve, according to the director general at the country’s plastics trade group.

UK government hard Brexit contingency plans for chemicals unworkable – CBA
The UK government’s current contingency plans for the chemicals industry regulation in the event of no deal being agreed with the EU on its exit from the 28-country club is unworkable and will cause huge damage to the sector, the Chemical Business Association (CBA) said.

Plastic tax ‘not efficient’ to increase recycling rates – Borealis’ CEO
A tax on plastics would only add costs to the supply chain and it is “not the most efficient” method to increase recycling rates, the CEO at Austrian polymers and fertilizers major Borealis said after the UK announced intentions to tax plastics production.

Plastic tax ‘discriminatory’, likely to increase prices – PlasticsEurope
A tax on plastics proposed this week in the UK could increase final consumer prices and would be discriminatory against the industry, an executive at European trade group PlasticsEurope said.