Crude futures were lower in mid-day trading today, with the WTI down 1.9% at $60.38/bbl and Brent 1.5% lower at $64.02/bbl. Natural gas was 0.8% lower at $1.98/MMBtu.
OPEC+ will meet Thursday to discuss whether to continue production cuts through May. Russia favors continuing the cuts while seeking a slight increase for itself to meet higher seasonal demand.
The White House is planning a wave of new lease sales for offshore wind to boost the nation’s capacity to 30,000 megawatts by 2030, enough to power more than 10 million U.S. homes.
Our most recent list of force majeure and allocation announcements from suppliers is here.
Supply Chain
The Suez Canal reopened yesterday after a giant container ship that ran aground last week was freed, with additional cleanup efforts expected to take six days or more:
After a queue of more than 360 ships waiting to traverse the canal is cleared, repercussions on the global container market could last up to three months.
The six-day blockage delayed the return of ships and boxes coming back to Asia from Europe, exacerbating a worldwide container shortage.
Freight rail rates from China to Europe rose by nearly 20% since last week.
Hundreds of millions in losses are set to mount for the reinsurance industry, which is already on the hook for natural disasters such as winter storms in the U.S. and flooding in Australia.
The Ever Given, the biggest container ship ever made when it launched in 2018 with a capacity of more than 21,000 TEUs, is small compared with next generation 25,000- and 30,000-TEU vessels now planned by ship builders.
The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect industries:
Automotive chipmaker Renesas Electronics, which suffered a fire at a factory in Japan on March 19, said there was more damage to the facility than originally estimated, and full production may not be restored for four months.
The Georgia Ports Authority has approved $205 million to expand the container capacity at the Port of Savannah by 20%.
Robot maker Boston Dynamics has developed its first single-use robot, “Stretch,” which can move around tight spaces in existing warehouses and pick up and move boxes at a rate of 800 cases per hour.
Logistics conditions remain strained, with trucking demand exceeding availability and continued congestion at ports due in part to operating challenges related to the pandemic. Clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help ensure delivery dates.
Markets
There were 69,417 new COVID-19 cases and 701 deaths in the U.S. yesterday. Over 145 million vaccine doses have been administered, with 15.1% of the population fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are climbing in 25 states, the latest indication of a fourth wave of infections.
Amazon is setting up COVID-19 vaccination clinics at its U.S. warehouses for employees.
A pair of experimental COVID-19 treatments produced positive results in clinical trials — one is made by Humanigen for hospitalized patients and the other by Eli Lilly, Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline for patients with mild to moderate symptoms.
Privacy concerns have prevented the creation of a national vaccine database, leaving vaccine recipients with their paper vaccination cards as the only proof they have received a shot.
COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer effectively prevented virus infections and not just illness, with substantial protection evident two weeks after the first dose.
Add JPMorgan Chase, Salesforce and PricewaterhouseCoopers to the growing list of major employers dumping office space as they extend remote work.
American Airlines is preparing to fly most of its fleet in the coming months thanks to rebounding domestic and short-haul international bookings.
Boeing resumed deliveries of its 787 jets after production problems prompted a halt in October. The company also received an order for 100 new 737 MAX jets from Southwest Airlines, the largest order since the jet’s safety ban was lifted several months ago.
Prices for farmland are climbing across the Midwest amid a rally in grain markets and favorable government policy, as fewer bigger farmers increase their hold on the country’s 900 million acres.
Volkswagen plans to change the name of its U.S. operations to “Voltswagen of America” to emphasize its push to manufacture electric vehicles.
Consumer-goods companies are turning toward customers to help reach voluntary climate goals, urging them to take shorter showers, do laundry at cooler temperatures and not waste tap water.
To meet the goals of the new U.S. Plastics Pact, major changes in both packaging design and recycling efforts will need to be amplified, according to its executive director.
Circuit board fabrication specialist BotFactory has been hired by the U.S. Air Force to develop a fully automated desktop electronics 3D printer capable of assembling printed circuit boards on-site and on-demand.
International
A newly discovered COVID-19 variant in India contains two different mutations, causing concern among health officials that it could be more infectious and spread to other countries.
Doctors in France signed opinions in newspapers warning that Paris is headed for another hospital calamity and urging the government to restore recently relaxed restrictions and lockdowns.
A divide has emerged between countries with successful COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and those still in the midst of severely spreading infections, including Brazil, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines, which recently surpassed 10,000 new infections in one day for the first time.
Among major financial capitals, London has had the most success in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, greatly outpacing global peers such as Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Hong Kong is easing some pandemic restrictions, including allowing swimming pools and beaches to reopen and shortening the quarantine period for some international arrivals to two weeks.
Italy’s customs agency plans to test a $10 million shipment of meningitis vaccines over fears that drugmakers are trying to export COVID-19 vaccine batches out of the European Union against the bloc’s rules.
The WHO and leaders from over 24 countries, are calling for a new international treaty to improve collaboration in response to a future pandemic.
Spain’s budget deficit rose to roughly 11% of GDP in 2020, an 11-year high after standing at just 2.9% in 2019.
Italy’s budget deficit is expected to be roughly 10% of GDP for the second year in a row in 2021, with total debt pushing toward 159% of output.
M. Holland will be closed on April 2 (Good Friday) in observance of the Easter holiday.
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.
M. Holland is proud to be named among the Plastics News Best Places to Work again this year. We also were recently named among the Best Places to Work by Crain’s Chicago Business.
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.