MH Daily Bulletin: May 19

May 19, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • Lindy Holland-Resnick, Market Manager for Packaging at M. Holland, is presenting during the upcoming Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her session on Developing a Sustainably Minded Staff will cover how to create a holistically sustainable company from top to bottom. If you’re attending Re|focus, don’t miss Lindy’s session on Tuesday, May 24 at 11:15 am ET.
  • M. Holland is excited to be the Headline Sponsor for the upcoming Injection Molding & Design Expo in Detroit! This two-day trade show will highlight the latest technologies, materials, equipment and opportunities in injection molding. The event is May 25-26 and admission is free. Click here to learn more.
  • If you’re attending the Injection Molding & Design Expo in Detroit, check out M. Holland’s speakers during the show:
    • Haleyanne Freedman, M. Holland’s 3D Printing Market Manager, will be discussing Open Platform Adoption in Additive Manufacturing. Don’t miss her presentation in the Designing the Future Theater on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:00 pm ET.
    • Josh Blackmore, M. Holland’s Global Healthcare Manager, is facilitating a training seminar on Understanding Material Selection for Medical Devices, from Qualification to Approval. Mark your schedules for this session in the Training and Development Theater on Thursday, May 26 at 9:15 am ET.

Supply

  • Oil prices fell 2.5% Wednesday, with Brent remaining at an unusual discount to WTI for the first time in two years.
  • In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 1.0% at $108.50/bbl, Brent was down 0.3% at $108.80/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 0.8% at $8.30/MMBtu. 
  • U.S. crude inventories fell a surprise 3.4 million barrels last week and are 14% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the EIA. 
  • Capacity use at both East Coast and Gulf Coast refineries hit 95% last week, suggesting refiners are racing to put more refined product on the market. 
  • U.S. gasoline prices hit another record of $4.567 a gallon yesterday. Prices topped $6 a gallon in California, the highest in the nation. 
Daily average regular gas and diesel prices in the United States throughout the war in Ukraine (in U.S. dollars)
  • The U.K. is seeing record gasoline and diesel prices, while gasoline prices are the equivalent of $9 a gallon in Europe. 
  • The oil and gas industry lost 200,000 jobs — roughly 20% of its workforce — during the pandemic, with a full recovery not expected for at least five years. 
Total U.S. oil and gas employment by year
  • Saudi Arabia could see oil revenues rise as much as 66% this year on the back of higher prices and boosted production. 
  • Sanctioned Iranian oil exports likely rose 30% in the first quarter on greater shipments to China. 
  • More oil news related to the war in Europe:
  • Germany and three other European countries pledged to create 150 GW of wind power by 2050, capable of powering 230 million homes and fueling the production of hydrogen for industrial use. 
  • Investors will pump over $1 trillion into boosting offshore wind installations ninefold by 2030, Wood Mackenzie predicts.
  • Panama is building a new biorefinery by 2026 to produce lower-carbon aviation fuel and renewable marine diesel. 
  • California is seeking part of the $8 billion in federal dollars earmarked for supporting hydrogen fuel projects. 

Supply Chain

  • Power demand in Texas could keep breaking May records until a heatwave subsides this weekend, grid operators say. 
  • Temperatures will rise to spring records across the Northeast Saturday, including a forecasted 98°F in Philadelphia. 
  • Power supplies in much of the U.S. and part of Canada will be stretched this summer amid heat, drought and supply-chain issues, according to the North American regulatory body that oversees grid stability.
  • A major water leak in central Japan disrupted supply to more than 130 businesses near the production center of Toyota, which shut down its factory in the region. 
  • April was the 11th straight month where yearly volume gains at East/Gulf Coast ports outperformed West Coast ports. 
  • Roughly 14 ships are waiting to enter the East Coast’s busiest port of New York and New Jersey, the largest backlog of the pandemic, as container ships flood other ports to avoid congestion in Southern California.
  • The Port of Los Angeles had its second-busiest April in history despite posting a 6.5% annual decline in cargo volumes. The Port of Long Beach posted its busiest April on record
  • CMA CGM signed an exclusive air cargo partnership with Air France-KLM that will combine the two firms’ cargo networks, freighter capacity and freight services. 
  • Monaco-based shipping group Scorpio is partnering with a British battery firm to develop batteries used in the maritime space
  • Road fatalities involving heavy-duty trucks rose 13% from 2020 to 2021, reversing a downward trend before the pandemic.
  • A self-driving startup backed by Ford and Volkswagen began testing its fully driverless vehicles on roads in Miami and Austin, Texas. 
  • China is in talks with automakers about extending electric vehicle subsidies that were set to expire this year. 
  • European car sales fell 20% in April from a year ago, the 10th straight month of declines, due to high prices and supply shortages. 
  • Global commercial vehicle production fell 13% during the logistics snarls of the first year of the pandemic, while chip shortages denied a full rebound in 2021: 
Commercial vehicle production volume worldwide from 2016 to 2021 (in million units)
  • The White House invoked the Defense Production Act to increase production of baby formula and allow commercial aircraft to pick up overseas formula that meets U.S. standards. 
  • Indonesia, the world’s biggest shipper of edible oils, will lift its ban on palm oil exports on May 23, a potentially major source of relief to global food markets. 

Domestic Markets

United States Stock Market Index
  • Investors are dumping retail stocks at the fastest pace since 1987 after quarterly results suggested they are struggling to pass along inflationary costs to consumers. 
  • Cisco stock plunged 13% yesterday after it cut its full-year earnings outlook by two-thirds, citing lockdowns in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
  • U.S. housing starts fell 0.2% to a 1.72 million annualized rate in April while construction backlogs climbed to the highest level since 1974, signaling a cooldown in the housing market.
United States Housing Starts

International Markets

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