The U.S. reinstated the Superfund Excise Tax on July 1, 2022. It applies to chemicals and substances commonly used in the plastics industry. How is it impacting producers, distributors, importers and processors? Click here to read more.
M. Holland will be attending the North American Detroit Auto Show on Sept. 14-15. This annual showcase for emerging automotive technologies will be held at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan. If you’re attending, please RSVP for M. Holland’s reception or contact Mike Gumbko, Strategic Account Manager, to set up a meeting with our Automotive team.
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.
Supply
Oil prices fell about 1.5% last week on fears of an economic slowdown weakening crude demand.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 4.0% at $87.14/bbl, Brent was down 4.1% at $92.76/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 2.6% at $9.58/MMBtu.
Average U.S. diesel prices are down 90 cents a gallon the past two months.
Active U.S. oil and gas rigs fell by one last week, the third week of declines, according to Baker Hughes.
U.S. coal exports rose 14.8% from the first to the second quarter and were up 4.6% from a year ago, according to S&P Global.
More oil news related to the war in Europe:
European gas prices surged 14% to a record-high at the end of last week, now equating to roughly $410 for the energy equivalent of a barrel of crude oil.
About 2,000 workers at the U.K.’s biggest Port of Felixstowe began an eight-day strike on Sunday, threatening more than $800 million in trade and backups that could take weeks to clear. The strike is one of many initiated or planned by British workers in the coming weeks, including a rail-worker strike that all but shut down London transport on Friday.
Water levels on Germany’s Rhine River are so low that some ships cannot sail even when empty, although long-awaited rain began to ease bottlenecks over the weekend.
Contract negotiations for 22,000 U.S. West Coast dockworkers reached a standstill over an equipment-handling dispute at the Port of Seattle, reports suggest.
U.S. imports rose 3% year-over-year to 2.53 million TEUs in July, remaining near all-time highs even as major retailers cut orders to manage inventories.
Total tonnage at the Port of Houston is up 24% year to date, led by a 92% increase in steel imports.
China’s merchandise exports grew 18% year over year in July while container throughput at major ports rose 14.5%, almost doubling the pace from June. The nation was alone among major economies in seeing its share of global goods exports rise during the pandemic.
More than half of U.S. states experienced a decline in their unemployment rates in July, with 22 reporting unemployment below 3%.
Some independent U.S. mortgage lenders are starting to fold after a sudden spike in lending rates, potentially leading to one of the sharpest housing bubble bursts post-2008.
A construction boom is set to deliver 420,000 new apartment rentals in the U.S. this year, the second consecutive year of new units topping 400,000, providing extra supply that could help alleviate record rent prices in some of the nation’s cities.
GM plans to reinstate its quarterly dividend after suspending it in April 2020 to preserve cash during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The parent company of Regal Cinemas plans to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks after struggling to rebuild movie-theater attendance from pandemic lows.
Beef prices in the U.S. dropped 0.7% in the four weeks to Aug. 7 from the year ago period, the first monthly decline in more than a year amid better staffing at meat plants, improving supply and weakened demand from consumers.
Online furniture seller Wayfair plans to cut 5% of its global workforce after suffering a larger-than-expected Q2 loss on soaring supply chain expenses and declining demand.
One of the worst droughts in over 1,000 years is crippling the Western U.S. farm industry, with more than 75% of farmers and 85% of cattle ranchers saying they have reduced output so far this year.
Severe drought is forcing some California homeowners to rip out their lawns in favor of arid plants.
International Markets
COVID-19 cases in Europe tripled over the past six weeks and account for nearly half of all new cases globally, according to the World Health Organization.
China reported over 2,000 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a three-month high, leading to new lockdowns in several regions and cities.
Chinese banks cut benchmark interest rates following the central bank’s rate cuts last week aimed at stimulating the country’s floundering economy.
German investment in China rose to over $10 billion between January and June, almost doubling the previous half-year record despite political pressure on Berlin to pivot away from Beijing.
Revised statistics indicate the U.K. economy shrank 11% in 2020, the nation’s largest contraction in over 300 years and the biggest among major economies during the pandemic.
Scandinavian airline SAS scrapped 4% of its upcoming flights due to fallout from a two-week pilot strike and delayed aircraft deliveries.
More automotive news:
Luxury carmaker Porsche plans to evenly split production of its 2024 full-electric Macan compact crossover model and its internal combustion engine version, aiming to make 80,000 units of both.
Tesla is raising the price for its “Full Self-Driving” software in its vehicles from $12,000 to $15,000 for orders made after Sept. 5, its second price hike this year, drawing new criticism because the features require some manual supervision.
Volkswagen inked a deal with Canada for access to raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium needed to make vehicles and batteries, hoping to avoid difficulties linked to new tariffs and tax regulations in the U.S.
Global smartphone sales slumped 9% in the second quarter as consumers reduced discretionary spending, according to research firm International Data Corp.
Australia is making new emissions rules in a bid to boost uptake of electric vehicles, whose sales have vastly underperformed those in other nations, officials say.
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.