U.S. natural gas prices dropped more than 7% last Thursday to a six-month low on steady output increases. Sharp price declines were also reported in Europe and Asia late last week, a trend reflected in falling LNG exports:
U.S. gas futures were 1.0% lower in morning trading at $3.69/MMBtu.
The U.S. active rig count remained unchanged last week at 586, over double the same time last year.
Aluminum prices rose late last week after two major European smelters cut production due to high power prices.
Milder weather is expected to avert a French power crisis this month after more than a dozen of the nation’s nuclear plants recently suffered maintenance and technical problems.
China’s crude oil imports are set to slow early this year, a result of crackdowns on independent refiners and the nation’s commitment to eradicating every COVID-19 outbreak. The nation already lowered its first batch of 2022 import quotas to independent refiners by 11%.
With resin supply improving and most 2021 force majeures lifted, we are ending our force majeure link. Please contact your M. Holland account manager if you have questions concerning availability of specific products.
Supply Chain
A severe winter storm is forecasted to bring heavy winds and up to a foot of snow to parts of the South and mid-Atlantic today.
Thousands of Colorado homes were damaged or destroyed late last week after wildfires broke out Thursday, while two people remain missing.
The eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, which houses the largest port in the world, reported 10 new COVID-19 cases at a clothing factory over the weekend, prompting new worker testing throughout most of the city and causing parts of the area to go into lockdown. Vietnam is urging the nation to ease certain pandemic measures at key border crossings, saying that its restrictions are hampering trade between the two nations.
Labor shortages in the global semiconductor industry are growing, with the U.S. forecast to need 90,000 additional workers by 2025, while Taiwan is facing its largest recruitment gap in six years.
Over 50,000 Finnish industrial workers are threatening to go on strike midway through January over wage disputes.
Venture funding for supply-chain tech startups was up 58% year over year the first three quarters of 2021, matching investment trends seen across the board in the U.S. last year.
IKEA will soon raise prices by an average of 9% across all global markets due to higher transport and raw material costs.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 248,632 new COVID-19 infections and 244 virus fatalities Sunday.
The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases across the U.S. rose to 405,470 Sunday, more than tripling over the past two weeks and well above last January’s record of 251,232, while the seven-day average of virus hospitalizations rose above 93,000, a 35% spike over the past two weeks.
New York reported 85,476 new COVID-19 infections Saturday, shattering its previous record. Almost one-third of the state’s emergency workers and 17% of firefighters were out sick last week, officials said, prompting New York City’s mayor to consider mandating COVID-19 booster doses for all city employees,
Florida recorded 75,900 new COVID-19 cases Dec. 31, a pandemic record.
COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County nearly tripled last week from the week earlier.
Texas’s governor requested federal aid for more testing sites, medical personnel and therapeutics to help fight a surge in COVID-19 in the state.
Ohio recorded over 20,000 COVID-19 infections Friday, a daily record, as hospitalizations rose 19% in the past week, with 1 in 3 hospital patients infected with the virus and 1 in 3 ICU beds occupied by virus victims.
Utah reported over 3,300 new COVID-19 cases late last week, the most since January, with the Omicron strain accounting for 70% of infections.
New COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico increased 46-fold in recent weeks, a staggering rise despite high levels of vaccination.
As of today, children aged 5 to 11 must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter public indoor businesses in New Orleans.
Urgent care centers across the country, overwhelmed with COVID-19 testing demand, are being forced to temporarily close due to soaring infections among workers.
A COVID-19 outbreak at a U.S. military base in Japan surged to a record 235 cases Saturday.
More than 2,400 flights into and out of the U.S. were canceled on New Year’s Day amid bad weather and continued staff shortages caused by the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Total flight cancelations over the weekend topped 6,000, while budget carrier JetBlue is preemptively removing more than 1,200 flights from its schedule the next two weeks.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, the nation’s largest hospital for clinical research, will postpone elective surgeries following a rise in COVID-19 infections among staff.
Many of the U.S.’s largest financial firms are returning to remote work for the first several weeks of 2022.
American support for keeping schools open for in-person classes after winter break is stronger than last year despite concerns over the availability of rapid at-home tests used to track outbreaks.
Economists expect improved U.S. monthly job gains when official numbers are released this Friday, while filling jobs will remain the primary barrier to economic growth in the months ahead.
Revenues and profit margins for most public U.S. companies have surpassed late-2019 levels, a stark turnaround from early pandemic forecasts of a severe economic crisis.
U.S. mortgage lenders issued $1.61 trillion in 2021 in loans, topping the previous record set in 2005.
Tesla’s annual deliveries surged 87% in 2021 to more than 936,000 vehicles, a surprise rate of growth amid widespread component shortages in the auto industry. The automaker also issued a recall of nearly half a million vehicles over rearview camera and trunk malfunctions.
At-home workers seeking larger screens than their laptops provide prompted an estimated 7% jump in personal computer sales last year, a growth trend expected to continue with the rise of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
The U.S.’s first new paperboard production line in decades will fire up this month, a bid to capitalize on a shift away from foam cups, plastic containers and six-pack rings.
International Markets
COVID-19 infections across the globe rose 59% last week to more than 9 million, a record. The highly contagious Omicron COVID-19 variant caused global cases of the virus to climb to more than 10 million over the past seven days, nearly doubling the previous weekly record of 5.7 million cases set back in April.
British officials are telling firms they should expect COVID-19-induced absences of up to 25% of their workforces in the coming weeks. Temporary clinics have been popping up at hospitals across the nation to handle a surge of new virus hospitalizations, while officials renewed vows to avoid more lockdowns.
France reported more than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases for four straight days to Saturday. A mask mandate takes effect in the country today, along with new rules that cut isolation times for vaccinated COVID-19 victims. The nation imposed a mandatory 10-day isolation requirement for unvaccinated travelers from the U.S.
Poland is considering implementing new pandemic restrictions on its residents, as a recent surge in COVID-19 infections continues to drive up hospitalizations in the nation.
Japan reported 554 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, the most since the Omicron variant was first reported. Tokyo reported 103 new COVID-19 cases Monday, its highest in three months.
India is countering rising COVID-19 infections with new nighttime curfews in every major city and capacity limits on restaurants. Cases tripled in just three days in Delhi last week, while hospitalizations remained flat. The nation began administering COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as age 15 Monday.
The 13 million people under lockdown in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an are facing food shortages as the nation’s latest COVID-19 outbreak grew to more than 1,500 cases.
Argentina reported more than 50,000 cases Dec. 30, a record.
New data shows Russia had its deadliest month of the pandemic in November, with fatalities rising 16% over the previous month as the nation’s life expectancy fell to its lowest level since 2012.
The COVAX global vaccine sharing program increased its deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines by 309 million in December, bringing its total to around 910 million doses for the year, well short of its initial 2 billion dose targets.
Despite surging COVID-19 infections, many governments are relaxing COVID-19 quarantine requirements to help keep daily life open, most recently Italy, Australia, Wales and Portugal.
Apple’s sales in China grew 15.5% in November from a month earlier, new data shows, sealing the tech maker’s top spot in one of the world’s largest phone markets.
Electric car sales in Norway rose by 48% in 2021, accounting for roughly two-thirds of vehicles on the road for the year, as the nation aims to eliminate the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025.
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.
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.