Oil prices fell more than 2% Wednesday after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached a compromise in their stalemate over OPEC+ production quotas, likely paving the way for a production increase from the cartel in the months ahead. Natural gas followed oil, falling roughly 1% for the day to a one-week low.
Energy futures were lower in morning trading, with WTI down 0.4% to $72.83/bbl and Brent down 0.5% to $74.39/bbl. Natural gas was 0.3% higher at $3.65/MMBtu.
The share of the oil and gas industry in Russia’s economy dropped from 19.2% in 2019 to just 15% last year.
A lightning strike took out power at LyondellBasell’s Lake Charles, Louisiana, complex, disrupting production for up to 10 days.
Exxon Mobil is hiring more temporary workers at a refinery in Beaumont, Texas, as a lock out of 650 employees stretched into its 11th week.
U.S. coal production in 2020 dropped to just 535 million short tons, its lowest level since 1965 and a 24% decrease from 2019.
Our most recent list of force majeure and allocation announcements from suppliers is here.
Supply Chain
Sixty-seven large fires have burned more than 917,000 acres across 12 U.S. states, engulfing about 1,434 square miles of acreage.
For the second time in two weeks, Canadian National Railway suspended operations in parts of British Columbia as a result of wildfires.
Union Pacific will suspend international shipments from the West Coast to its Global IV terminal in Chicago for a week starting Sunday to clear a backlog of cargo caused by labor and equipment shortages.
Maersk was forced to shut down its depots, warehouses and cold stores in Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa, following increased civil unrest and looting.
South Carolina’s Port of Charleston reported a record fiscal year 2021, handling 2.6 million twenty-foot containers, a 9.6% volume increase from fiscal year 2020.
Supply shortages in the chemical industry increased over the last quarter, with roughly 85% of distributors reporting at least one out-of-stock imported item, up from 47% in March.
Lumber prices continue to fall, with futures ending Wednesday at $521.40 per thousand board feet, down almost 70% from record highs in May.
Stellantis announced more facility shutdowns due to the global semiconductor shortage, including the Detroit assembly plant where it makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango.
Taiwan’s TSMC reported record quarterly sales while warning that overall semiconductor supply tightness could extend into next year.
South Korean chipmaker SK Siltron will invest $300 million in Bay County, Michigan, to expand silicon wafer manufacturing and support the production of electric vehicles in the U.S.
Businesses are seeing higher levels of fake semiconductor chips as fraudsters take advantage of the global shortage.
Our logistics team reports that bulk trucking firms are often declining to book long-haul, out of network loads due to extreme capacity constraints.
Logistics conditions remain strained, with trucking demand exceeding availability and continued congestion at ports primarily due to increased volume of ships and containers. Clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help ensure delivery dates.
Markets
The U.S. reported 31,845 new COVID-19 cases and 331 deaths Wednesday.
New COVID-19 cases have risen in 46 states this week from last, with 31 states seeing increases of more than 50%. Virus hospitalizations are increasing in younger people, with fewer than half of 18- to 24-year-olds vaccinated.
U.S. vaccination rates are beginning to lag those of other countries:
Rural areas with low vaccination rates are a major driver of rising COVID-19 infections in the U.S., with Arkansas and Missouri accounting for 10% of the nation’s new cases last week.
Five states (Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, California and New Jersey) account for the highest proportion of U.S. COVID-19 Delta variant cases.
New York City’s COVID-19 test positivity rate doubled from 0.6% to 1.3% the past week on higher cases of the Delta variant. The city joined California in imposing mask mandates for students and teachers returning in the fall.
All of Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people, officials report. The county has reported more than 1,000 new infections per day for the past five days.
New COVID-19 cases in Georgia rose by 143% over the past two weeks.
Ohio will launch a second COVID-19 vaccine incentive program that could spread smaller cash payments to more people than the state’s previous million-dollar lottery system.
New data shows more than a quarter of people infected with COVID-19 still had “long-haul” symptoms six to eight months later, particularly fatigue, shortness of breath and depression.
Roughly 1.8 million out-of-work Americans turned down jobs due to enhanced unemployment benefits offered during the pandemic, a new poll suggests.
Economists at Goldman Sachs say the rapidly spreading Delta variant will have only a modest impact on consumer spending.
U.S. federal taxing ($3 trillion) and spending ($5 trillion) surged to new records in the first nine months of fiscal year 2021.
Consumer debt surged to $14.6 trillion in the first three months of 2021, driven mostly by auto loans and mortgages.
The Federal Reserve expects inflation levels to remain high in the coming months before leveling off as pandemic-related bottlenecks and other supply constraints begin to ease. The central bank noted strong job gains for lower-skilled occupations in July.
Several major U.S. banks reported second quarter earnings Wednesday:
Wells Fargo’s revenue rose 11% from a year ago to its highest level since before the pandemic, making it the only top-four U.S. bank to report a revenue increase.
Bank of America missed analysts’ revenue predictions, a result of continued low interest rates, but the firm’s profit more than doubled year over year.
Similarly, Citigroup reported a 12% decline in revenue from the same time last year despite more than doubling profit to $6.2 billion for the quarter.
Fatal drug overdoses increased roughly 30% from 2019 to 2020, highlighting how the pandemic suppressed efforts to stop the spread of opioids in the U.S.
Electric vehicle (EV) registrations rose 11% in 2020, despite a steep drop in overall vehicle sales, while EV sales increased 95% year over year in the four months ended April 2021, compared with a 36% increase for the overall car market.
Electric vehicles are poised for exponential growth across the globe over the next decade:
Maine became the first state to pass an extended producer responsibility law for packaging, with fees going to local governments to encourage reuse and recycling and incentivize the use of sustainable materials.
International
Nearly half of residents in Indonesia’s capital have likely contracted COVID-19, more than 12 times the number of cases officially recorded. The nation reported a record 56,757 new infections Thursday, a tenfold increase since the beginning of June.
Myanmar is in the middle of its most severe wave of COVID-19 infections, reporting more than 7,000 cases and 145 virus deaths Wednesday.
Daily COVID-19 infections in Singapore reached a 10-month high Wednesday.
A cluster of COVID-19 infections broke out at a Japanese hotel housing members of the Brazilian Olympic team, stoking fears about infections at the upcoming Olympic Games.
Authorities in Sydney, Australia, extended a pandemic lockdown through July as a recent COVID-19 outbreak approaches 900 cases. Melbourne followed, imposing a strict five-day lockdown.
The U.K. reported 42,302 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest daily increase since January.
COVID-19 cases in Africa are up 43% over the past week as the continent experiences a 2.6% fatality rate among those infected, compared with a 2.2% global average.
Rwanda is locking down its capital and other areas through July 26 to contain spiking COVID-19 infections.
The U.S. will send 1.5 million vaccine doses to Sri Lanka through the COVAX initiative and 500,000 doses to Jordan to help fight the global pandemic.
The World Bank lowered economic growth forecasts for the East Asia and Pacific region excluding China for the rest of 2021, citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19.
China’s GDP grew by 7.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier, in line with expectations but more than half as slow as the first quarter. The nation’s industrial output in June grew 8.3% from a year earlier and 8.8% from May.
The Bank of Canada held its interest rate to a record low 0.25% while announcing new curbs to weekly bond purchases.
The number of people on U.K. payrolls surged to a pandemic high in June, rising 356,000 from the month before with an additional increase in average pay.
Korean supplier LG Chem will invest $8.7 billion through 2025 to accelerate its battery materials operations amid an increased demand for electric vehicles.
The EU and China recently unveiled their most extensive plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions in support of long-term goals to reach carbon neutrality.
Our Operations
M. Holland’s 3D Printing group offers a rapid response alternative for producing selected parts where resin availability is tight during prevailing force majeure. For more information, email our 3D Printing team.
Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets. To arrange a videoconference or meeting with any of our Market Managers, please visit our website.
Thank you,
M. Holland Company
We will provide further COVID-19 bulletins as circumstances dictate. For all COVID-19 updates and notices, please refer to the M. Holland website.
We and selected third-parties use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL third-party cookies. For more details about cookies and how we use them, read the full Data Privacy Policy.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. For more details about cookies and how we use them, read the full Data Privacy Policy.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
bcookie
1 year
LinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID.
bscookie
1 year
LinkedIn sets this cookie to store performed actions on the website.
lang
session
LinkedIn sets this cookie to remember a user's language setting.
lidc
1 day
LinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
UserMatchHistory
1 month
LinkedIn sets this cookie for LinkedIn Ads ID syncing.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_S6SF7JZ2WY
2 years
This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-7828007-1
1 minute
A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gcl_au
3 months
Provided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
vuid
2 years
Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_fbp
3 months
This cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
fr
3 months
Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE
1 year 24 days
Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
personalization_id
2 years
Twitter sets this cookie to integrate and share features for social media and also store information about how the user uses the website, for tracking and targeting.
test_cookie
15 minutes
The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC
session
YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextId
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requests
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.