MH Daily Bulletin: July 19

July 19, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • M. Holland has launched a new Healthcare Packaging line card to help manufacturers solve industry challenges and meet regulatory and supply chain demands.
  • 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 rose 5% Monday, rebounding from last week’s biggest decline in over a month. 
  • In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.3% at $102.40/bbl and Brent was down 0.2% at $106.10/bbl.
  • U.S. natural gas futures topped $7.50/MMBtu for the first time in a month yesterday but fell by 1.4% in morning trading to $7.38/MMBtu.
Natural gas (USD/MMBtu)
  • ­­The average U.S. gasoline price is below $4.50 a gallon for the first time in two months, according to AAA. Gasoline consumption remains lower than last year, however:
Second-quarter U.S. gasoline consumption has been less than during 2021

Supply Chain

Domestic Markets

United States Nahb Housing Market Index
  • Rent prices in Austin, Texas, rose 108% over the past year, the largest year over year increase in the nation. 
  • U.S. home sales to foreign buyers fell 7.9% for the year ending in March, the fifth straight annual decline, even as rising prices pushed the dollar volume of sales up 9%.
  • U.S. airline bookings fell 2.8% from May to June, likely a reflection of soaring ticket costs. 
  • The price for a pound of white bread in the U.S. hit a record $1.69 in June, up 12% from a year ago. 
  • Amazon and Facebook parent Meta are scaling back office expansions planned for New York in a reconsideration of permanent hybrid work policies. 
  • While private sector employment in the U.S. surpassed pre-pandemic levels in June, overall employment remains 524,000 lower as state and local governments struggle to attract and retain workers in the tight labor market.
  • U.S. employers added 884,000 jobs for workers aged 16 to 19 in June, a 41% increase from last year in one of the highest labor participation rates for the demographic in over a decade. 
  • Workforce participation among older workers aged 55-64 fell by 400,000 early in the pandemic before returning to pre-pandemic levels this year. Fears are growing that resurging COVID-19 infections could again force them into early retirement. 
  • Apple joined many other large firms, particularly in technology and real estate, that are reining in hiring and spending plans due to recessionary fears. 
  • IBM posted better-than-expected sales growth of 9% in the second quarter but warned of rising costs weighing on future earnings. 
  • Goldman Sachs (-47%) and Bank of America (-32%) reported sharp declines in second-quarter profits after volatile markets slashed investment banking revenue across the industry. 
  • Delta Air Lines ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets, a needed boost for the plane maker after months of ceding ground to Airbus. Boeing also expects to soon resume production of its 787 Dreamliner after a two-year stall. 

International Markets

  • Shanghai and several other large cities are imposing fresh mass testing or extending lockdowns on millions of people after new COVID-19 cases in China neared 700 Monday, a two-month high.
  • Hong Kong stepped up its pandemic restrictions with a new requirement that quarantined people start wearing tracking bracelets, a measure resembling COVID surveillance in China. 
  • COVID-19 cases have tripled in Europe over the past six weeks while hospitalizations have doubled, according to the World Health Organization.
  • Despite saving an estimated 20 million lives globally in their first year of use, injected COVID-19 vaccines have not stopped the virus’s spread or mutation, leading researchers to focus on versions that can be swallowed or inhaled closer to the point of incubation.
  • More news related to the war in Europe:
    • H&M, the world’s second largest apparel retailer, announced plans to fully exit the Russian market at a cost of roughly $200 million and 6,000 staff. 
    • Europe’s GDP could fall up to 1.5% this year if the EU fails to take preventive measures to save energy this winter, according to bloc estimates. 
  • Broadly rising interest rates are pushing down home prices in some of the world’s hottest housing markets for the first time in the pandemic. 
  • Chinese officials are discussing a plan to halt mortgage payments on stalled real estate projects to avoid further crisis in the nation’s roiling property sector. 
  • With up to 60% of flights delayed and roughly 8% canceled at some of Europe’s busiest travel hubs, rental car prices are up three- and four-fold as travelers avoid air travel chaos. Lost luggage claims at Europe’s airports are 30% higher than in 2019. 
  • Airline SAS reached a tentative contract with its pilot union. The two-week strike has cost the Scandinavian airline over $10 million per day. 
  • Flights were disrupted from London’s Luton airport on Monday after soaring temperatures melted runway pavement
  • Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to launch a flying taxi service out of Heathrow Airport for domestic travel in England by 2025. 

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