Today marks the second anniversary of our COVID-19 Bulletin, edition number 501.
We have followed the pandemic, historic supply chain disruption, extreme weather events, and now a war on Europe, tracing their impact on the economy and plastics industry. Our surveys suggest the Bulletin has delivered value to subscribers, many of whom have asked that we continue the publication when COVID-19 subsides. We intend to do so and will soon introduce a new name and look as we constantly seek to provide more value to customers, suppliers, business partners and friends.
More news relevant to the plastics industry:
Some sources linked are subscription services.
Supply
Oil futures tumbled another 6% to below $100/bbl Tuesday, the lowest in two weeks, on fears of demand impacts in COVID-hit China.
The Energy Information Agency reported a 4.3 million barrel build in crude inventories last week, sending crude prices lower in mid-morning trading today. WTI futures were off 0.5% at $95.99/bbl, Brent was down 1.2% at $98.76/bbl and U.S. natural gas was up 1.9% at $4.65/MMBtu.
In its monthly market report, OPEC held off on revising supply and demand forecasts due to the fast-changing situation in Ukraine but cautioned that global demand could decline sharply as inflation rises.
European nations should start immediately stockpiling gas stores to prepare for next winter and as a buffer against further supply shocks, EU lawmakers urged Tuesday.
Trafigura Group, one of the world’s top oil and metals traders, is in talks with private equity groups to secure additional financing as soaring prices trigger massive margin calls across the commodities industry.
Gazprom’s natural gas exports to nations outside former Soviet states fell almost 30% year over year from Jan. 1 to March 15, the firm said, despite rising export volumes so far this month.
The Yamal-Europe gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is back flowing westward after a brief eastward flow on Tuesday.
Greece’s largest refiner is boosting orders for Saudi Arabian crude as it works to transition away from Russian imports, which accounted for 18% of its total crude supplies last year.
The world’s nuclear energy regulators have been blocked from what is happening inside the Russian-occupied Chernobyl nuclear complex, as reports swirl of staff forced to work around the clock at gunpoint.
The average price for a gallon of gas in Hawaii hit $5 yesterday, according to AAA, a first for any U.S. state outside California.
Lyft joined Uber in imposing a new gas surcharge on fares amid rising fuel costs.
Airlines say they will be able to absorb higher fuel costs on an unexpected pickup in travel demand following the U.S.’s Omicron wave.
Aggressive dealmaking in the U.S. shale industry has created a group of so-called “mini-majors” including Devon Energy Corp., EQT Corp., Continental Resources, Pioneer Natural Resources and Diamondback Energy.
U.S. energy firm Sempra Infrastructure plans to increase LNG production by 60% over the next five years.
U.S. coal exports rose 23% last year, new data shows:
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan, a move that could dent the U.S. dollar’s dominance of the global petroleum market and marks another shift by the world’s top crude exporter toward Asia. Some analysts see the move as largely symbolic.
OMV, Austria’s largest industrial group, will focus on plastics and biofuels in its transition away from oil and gas, a contrast to other producers shifting to renewables.
More supply chain news related to the war in Europe:
Rates for the largest capesize bulk ships jumped 20% in a day last week as more Australian coal started moving toward Europe.
Tanker owners willing to take the risk of sailing into the Black Sea can fetch more than $200,000 per day, but most are steering clear, reports show.
War-induced demand slowdowns for vehicles in Europe could have an outsized impact on Volkswagen, which gets 39% of its sales from the continent while accounting for one in every four car sales there. The central European car industry, as a whole, will see the largest impact, as supply shortages shift from semiconductors to even more fundamental car parts like wire harnesses.
Chinese authorities tightened anti-virus controls at the nation’s ports Tuesday, raising the risk of more trade disruptions on top of production shutdowns at auto and electronics manufacturing hubs. Makers of everything from flash drives to glass for Apple’s iPhone screens are warning of new shipment delays.
A year after a giant container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal and disrupted ocean trade for months, another Evergreen Marine Corp. boxship has run aground, this time in the Chesapeake Bay outside the Port of Baltimore.
Total U.S. rail traffic for the first nine weeks of 2022 was 4.35 million carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3% from the same time last year, led by a 7% drop in intermodal.
Thousands of employees at Canadian Pacific Railway, the nation’s second largest rail line, are threatening to strike this week in a pay dispute.
Tesla raised prices on all vehicles sold in the U.S. and China by 3%-5% due to rising raw material costs.
Southwest predicts a 7% decline in second-quarter flight capacity due primarily to a shortage of workers.
Intel is investing $36 billion in chip production and research across Europe, including a new complex in Germany, the firm’s second multibillion-dollar plant investment announced in 2022.
Startup companies that promise to make computer chips for artificial intelligence applications pulled in almost $10 billion in venture capital last year, triple the total funding from 2020.
Another container of unlawfully loaded lithium battery waste caught fire at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach yesterday, the second such fire in the past two weeks, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to put all containers from the unnamed shipper on hold.
Hapag-Lloyd acquired the container line unit of regional operator Deutsche Afrika-Linien.
Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet will add six 757 freighters by mid-April to expand its network in Latin America.
Extreme weather events caused by climate change could pose a $25 billion annual cost on the global shipping industry by the end of the century, researchers predict.
New York state manufacturing activity showed a surprise contraction in early March as orders fell and delivery times lengthened, according to a New York Federal Reserve index.
The average worker in Houston — one of the fastest cities to scrap remote work measures — shows up at the office about 10.7 days per month compared to 17 before the pandemic, signaling a potential permanent shift to hybrid work structures.
Revenue in the travel nursing industry tripled between 2015 and 2021, new data shows.
Single-family rents rose a record 12.6% year over year in January, new data shows, compared to an annual increase of just 3.9% in January of 2021. Miami, Orlando and Phoenix led the rise.
First-time home buyers accounted for just 27% of U.S. home sales in January, the lowest in eight years amid continued tight supplies and rising mortgage rates.
S&P 500 firms have committed to a combined $238 billion in share buybacks through the first two months of 2022, a record for this time of year. Buybacks for the full year could top $1 trillion, Goldman Sachs predicts.
Starbucks is boosting efforts to eliminate its use of single-use plastic cups, with customers at every location in the U.S. and Canada able to use their own reusable cups by the end of next year.
The EU has approved its fourth round of economic sanctions against Russia, including a broad ban on investment in the nation’s energy sector, a ban on selling some luxury goods to the country and new sanctions against Russian executives and oligarchs.
New Western sanctions on Russia effectively bar the top three global ratings agencies — S&P Global, Moody’s and Fitch — from rating Russian companies and the nation’s sovereign debt.
The Ukrainian refugee exodus surpassed 3 million people Tuesday.
Global COVID-19 fatalities were down 17% last week, but new cases rose 8%, reversing a recent declining trend.
Germany continues to mark record high daily COVID-19 cases above 250,000, while infections pick up in other European nations including France, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. In the U.K., infections were up almost 50% and hospitalizations were up almost 17% week-over-week.
China modified its hospitalization mandates for some COVID-infected people as it seeks to avoid strains on its healthcare system amid its worst virus wave since early 2020, which saw 5,154 new cases Monday.
Demand for flights leaving Hong Kong is up over 300% from the same time last year as residents seek to flee the island’s on-and-off talks of mass testing and lockdowns. Hong Kong crematoriums are at capacity.
The U.S., EU, India and South Africa reached an agreement on an IP-sharing framework for COVID-19 vaccines, potentially leading to more doses for middle- and low-income nations.
Chinese industrial output in the first two months of 2022 was up 7.5% from a year earlier, quicker than December’s 4.3% pace and more than double the 3.5% pace expected by many economists.
New home construction in Canada picked up sharply to start the year.
Walmart’s technology unit, Walmart Global Tech, aims to hire 5,000 associates globally this fiscal year and open new hubs in Toronto and Atlanta as part of its aggressive expansion plans, the retailer said.
EU advisers are proposing a new “amber” climate rating for investments in projects that are not fully renewable but still play a significant role in transitioning to cleaner power, such as natural gas.
M. Holland’s 3D Printing group offers a rapid response alternative for producing selected parts where resin availability is tight. 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.