During M. Holland’s recent summer internship program, 15 bright college students worked both in-person and remotely across many departments. Click here to read more about their experiences at M. Holland and their perspectives on the plastics industry.
M. Holland’s latest logistics outlook examines current challenges and industry trends that are impacting shipping, trucking and rail. Although the plastics industry is faring a little better than earlier this year, M. Holland’s experts predict disruption to continue well into 2023. Click here to read the full outlook for the remainder of 2022.
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 will be closed Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.
Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.
Supply
Oil prices spiked 4% Monday, extending last week’s gain, on concerns over lower output from OPEC.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 3.8% at $93.28/bbl, Brent was down 4.0% at $100.90/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 4.1% at $8.96/MMBtu.
Crude inventory in U.S. strategic reserves fell by 3.1 million barrels last week to 450 million barrels, the lowest since December 1984.
Energy expenditures made by U.S. consumers fell to $1 trillion in the first year of the pandemic, the lowest level since 2002:
Brazil’s Petrobras will cut aviation fuel prices by 15.7% starting Thursday, the second time in recent weeks that the firm has lowered gas prices in the sector.
Reliance Industries, the India-based operator of the world’s biggest refining complex, plans to spend $9 billion over five years to expand its oil-to-chemical business.
European natural gas and power prices plunged over 20% Monday on positive news that the EU is on track to meet fuel storage requirements for winter. Year-ahead energy futures remained at record highs, however.
German power supplier Uniper is seeking an additional $4 billion in government funding after fully using its existing $9 billion emergency credit line to manage higher costs.
European energy ministers will hold a rare emergency meeting Sept. 9 to discuss an EU-wide solution to the spike in power markets. Solutions could include a structural revamp of the continent’s power markets, according to reports.
French officials urged companies to draft energy savings plans by next month, warning they would be the first hit if the nation is forced to ration power supplies in coming months.
German and Dutch officials say a $9 billion offshore wind farm set to come online by 2030 will power up to 4.5 million homes and be a substantial driver in reducing energy dependence on Russia.
Exxon Mobil plans to sue the Russian government unless Moscow allows it to exit the major Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in the nation’s Far East.
Norwegian carbon storage firm Northern Lights, a joint venture founded by Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell, secured a deal to store emissions from a major Dutch fertilizer maker starting in 2025, a commercial breakthrough that marks the world’s first agreement for cross-border CO2 transport.
Arizona-based First Solar, the U.S.’s biggest solar-panel maker, plans to spend $1.2 billion to boost production by 75% with help from incentives under the recently passed climate and healthcare law.
Supply Chain
Record-breaking temperatures will hit the U.S. West this week including in Southern California and Arizona, where more than 30 million people are already under heat advisories.
With five straight months of below-average rainfall, Britain saw its driest July since 1935, prompting widespread restrictions from utilities on water use.
U.S. freight railroads struck contract deals with unions representing 15,000 of some 115,000 unionized workers Monday, a positive signal in negotiations that have lasted over two years. The Drewry Shipping Consultants’ index for container rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 6% last week to $6,127, down 45% from January.
A measure of rates for the bulk sector’s largest capesize vessels fell 30% in a single day late last week.
The container ship backlog outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach dropped to eight vessels Monday, the lowest level in two years.
Outbound shipments from the congested Port of Oakland fell 30% from June to July, the biggest drop since 1997. Some industries are signing deals for new trade routes that skip the port entirely.
The Port of Oakland will spend $2 million to build infrastructure to handle electric vehicles in its cargo operations.
Tanker operator Frontline swung to a $42.2 million second-quarter profit as it prepares to merge with rival Euronav.
California-based Applied Materials, a supplier of equipment used in computer chip manufacturing, says its backlog for parts and equipment continues to grow despite declining sales of smartphones and PCs.
UPS plans to buy eight new Boeing 767 freighters to support continued strength in parcel shipping, expanding its total 767 fleet to 108 aircraft.
In the second quarter, Korean Air saw 42% more freight traffic compared to 2019 while freight revenues were up 44% year over year, a salve for declining passenger volumes.
Kroger is expanding the reach of its online grocery delivery network with the recent opening of two automated fulfillment centers in Tennessee and Illinois.
Over 500,000 tons of U.S. grain were shipped through the Great Lakes’ St. Lawrence Seaway in the second quarter, a 37% increase from a year ago.
Estimates suggest as much as 15% of the U.S.’s 10.7 million worker shortage is due to people suffering from long-COVID symptoms.
School districts in Texas, New York and California are creating permanent, full-time virtual schools for the first time this year after the pandemic’s shift to remote learning exposed a niche option for some students.
The U.S. dollar touched a fresh 20-year high Monday on signals that the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates to restrict growth.
The Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing will ramp up this week as the central bank lifts the monthly selloff of its nearly $9 trillion portfolio to $95 billion per month.
U.S. teenagers aged 15 to 19 accounted for almost 13% of new hires in May, up from around 2% in 2019 amid persistent worker shortages.
The Dallas Fed’s index of Texas manufacturing activity hit -12.9 in August, remaining in contraction territory despite substantially improving over July’s reading of -22.6:
U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid filed for a new security offering of up to $8 billion as the automaker looks to beef up working capital while supply snarls crimp production. Tesla launched a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a Louisiana law that bars the automaker from selling its electric vehicles directly to consumers rather than using dealerships as intermediaries. Fitness equipment maker Peloton will delay publication of its annual report, citing more time needed to sort out accounting tied to its restructuring effort. Shredded COVID-19 personal protective goods such as gowns, masks and gloves can increase the strength of concrete by 20%, providing a solution for the solid waste challenge presented by the pandemic.
U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid filed for a new security offering of up to $8 billion as the automaker looks to beef up working capital while supply snarls crimp production.
Tesla launched a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a Louisiana law that bars the automaker from selling its electric vehicles directly to consumers rather than using dealerships as intermediaries.
Fitness equipment maker Peloton will delay publication of its annual report, citing more time needed to sort out accounting tied to its restructuring effort.
Shredded COVID-19 personal protective goods such as gowns, masks and gloves can increase the strength of concrete by 20%, providing a solution for the solid waste challenge presented by the pandemic.
International Markets
Japan is considering easing some isolation requirements on people with asymptomatic COVID-19 cases as daily infections continue to hit record numbers.
More Western tech firms, including Ericsson, Nokia and Logitech, announced plans for complete exits from Russia Monday, following Dell last week.
Russia says its economy is on pace to shrink a smaller-than-expected 3% this year, while inflation will likely hit 13%.
India’s economy is believed to have grown at the fastest rate in a year last quarter driven by healthy consumption, with GDP rising 15.4% compared to just 4.09% in Q1.
Tourism to Europe is expected to reach as much as 80% of pre-pandemic levels this year.
More than half of U.S. firms surveyed say China’s strict COVID-19 controls top the list of reasons to cancel or delay investments in the world’s second largest economy. At the same time, over one-fifth of U.S. firms said they were pessimistic about their strategic outlook in China, more than double the level from last year.
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