MH Daily Bulletin: June 17

June 17, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • 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

Supply Chain

  • Parts of Chicago reached triple-digit temperatures for the first time in a decade as sweltering heat hit the U.S. Midwest. In Texas, power demand will continue breaking records through Monday due to high temperatures. 
  • Heavy rains caused major flooding in Montana this week, destroying infrastructure and prompting the state’s governor to ask for a federal emergency declaration.
  • A dangerous heat wave will remain over Western Europe into the weekend, sending temperatures above 100°F
  • A major baby formula plant in Michigan was shut down Thursday due to flooding, less than two weeks after it resumed operations following contamination concerns. 
  • Workers at Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, will go on strike starting today if contract talks fail. 
  • Congestion at the Port of Shanghai has returned to levels close to normal
  • Tesla raised prices by 5% for all its U.S. car models in response to soaring raw material costs. 
  • Toyota plans to suspend more Japanese production in June and July due to computer chip shortages and a COVID-19 outbreak at one of its suppliers, the automaker’s third adjustment of June production plans. 
  • Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive said the nation faces major challenges in ramping up battery production in its shift to electric vehicles, including attracting skilled workers, mining for key metals and reducing supply chain disruptions. 
  • The New York Fed’s global supply chain pressure index was at 2.9 in May, down from 3.4 in April and a peak of 4.38 in December. 
  • The U.S. president signed into law a bill that tightens federal oversight of ocean shipping, a measure proponents say will reduce backlogs. 
  • Manufacturing activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region weakened unexpectedly in June as new orders dropped to a two-year low
  • About two-thirds of respondents in a recent survey say they are raising wages to retain warehouse workers, while 39% are offering overtime pay. 
  • Old Dominion Freight Line’s shipment growth pulled back sharply in May while revenue rose 26% on higher pricing and rising fuel surcharges. 
  • Container ship owner Costamare canceled an order for six large vessels to be built in China
  • Auction prices for used trucks are falling almost as quickly as they rose last year, leaving owner-operators stuck with overpriced equipment in a cooling freight market. 
  • Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation made its first acquisition in 19 years with a $77.4 million deal for New York-based Metropolitan Trucking. 
  • Supply chain software firm Descartes Systems is buying e-commerce parcel shipper XPS Technologies for $65 million
  • Insurance claims related to 2021’s months-long grounding of the Ever Given container ship in the Suez Canal will top $2 billion
  • Britain’s Unilever is changing the ingredient makeup for some of its most popular consumer products to cut costs and mitigate supply chain constraints. 
  • Twenty containers containing gold, silver ore and TVs were stolen from a Mexican container yard this month, the nation’s largest container heist ever. 
  • Firefighters brought a deadly fire at a Bangladesh container yard under control after several days of burning last week. 
  • Freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel agreed to sell its Russian business to local management
  • KFC’s Australian shops are serving their meals with cabbage due to a widespread lettuce shortage. 

Domestic Markets

International Markets

  • Global COVID-19 fatalities rose 4% last week, the first increase in five weeks, according to the WHO. 
  • India reported 12,213 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, a four-month high. 
  • Beijing declared victory in its latest battle with COVID-19 after testing millions of people and quarantining thousands the past week. 
  • China’s strict COVID-zero policy will likely stretch into next year, discouraging American and European investment, the U.S. ambassador said. 
  • Demand is surging in Canada for treatment of long-COVID symptoms at specialized clinics
  • European stocks tumbled Thursday after a surprise interest rate hike from the Swiss National Bank, the bank’s first in 15 years. 
  • The Bank of England raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25% Thursday, as the nation’s inflation rate approaches 11%. 
  • The Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-low interest rate of minus 0.1% today, a sharp policy divergence with the rest of the world. 
  • Argentina’s central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 300 basis points to 52%, the sharpest rise in three years, as the nation’s inflation rate tops 60%.
  • New home prices in China dropped 0.17% in May, the ninth straight month of declines. 
  • British job vacancies hit a new high last week as the nation’s labor market remains extraordinarily tight. 

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