Oil prices fell slightly Thursday, likely on expectations of U.S. interest rate hikes planned for this year. Futures were higher in late morning trading, with WTI up 1.1% at $83.01/bbl and Brent up 0.9% at $85.25/bbl.
U.S. natural gas prices nosedived over 10% Thursday on government data showing rising output. Futures continued declining in morning trading, down 1.6% at $4.20/MMBtu.
The U.S. government expects a rise of several cents in average retail gas and diesel prices this year:
European power prices fell 3.8% Thursday on forecasts of milder weather, the seventh day of the continent’s longest streak of declines since February of 2020.
Local producers have kept Canada’s oil sands alive even as larger firms begin exiting some developments over environmental concerns.
Oil producers struck deals worth just $9 billion in the final three months of 2021, a 50% decline from the third quarter, with soaring valuations making it difficult for buyers and sellers to agree on price.
More than 1 million Californians could face higher costs for rooftop solar power as state officials seek ways to recover lost revenue from renewable power being metered back into the electricity grid.
The U.S. has spent a combined $1.1 billion on 11 failed carbon capture projects at coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities since 2009.
Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries will invest $76 billion in green energy projects over the next 15 years in a bid to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2035.
Supply Chain
Winter Storm Izzy is set to create travel snarls across the central, eastern and southern U.S. beginning today.
Maersk’s latest customer advisory stressed that congestion at key shipping hubs will continue to cause delays across supply chains.
The average price for a 40-foot container from Asia to the U.S. West Coast rose 16% last week to $14,572, roughly 169% higher than a year ago.
Intra-North American freight shipments rose sharply to end 2021 alongside a 44% annual increase for the Cass Freight Index of expenditures, which set a record.
Roughly 10% of a given day’s dockworkers in Southern California were out sick earlier this week with COVID-19.
Global consequences of China’s zero-tolerance COVID policy are rising, with a week’s delay at the key port hub of Ningbo estimated to affect up to $4 billion in commerce, including more than $230 million in computer chip exports. Volkswagen and Toyota have temporarily shuttered a combined three production sites in China due to regional lockdowns.
Taiwan’s three largest ocean liners are adding capacity for local exporters this month to meet increased demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
After a misleading announcement Wednesday night, Canadian officials confirmed they are standing by a new requirement barring entry to unvaccinated foreign truckers, while unvaccinated Canadian truckers will lose their exemption from testing and quarantine requirements. Fears of impending border chaos are ratcheting up in already fragile logistics networks.
A growing number of U.S. supermarkets and drugstores are being forced to trim hours and services amid rising COVID-19 infections among staff.
The Labor Department’s producer price index rose 0.2% from November to December, the slowest pace since November 2020 on a possible sign of easing inflationary pressures in U.S. supply chains.
Supply chain snarls pushed up the cost of romaine lettuce 61% last year, faster than any other food item tracked by the government.
New data shows air cargo growth slowed in November to nearly half the pace of previous months on tight capacity and supply chain congestion.
Pilot shortages forced Delta Air Lines to cut roughly 25% of possible flights in the first half of 2022 and American Airlines to cancel hundreds of flights on several regional subsidiaries.
Global PC shipments likely declined 5% in the latest quarter, according to International Data Corp., as supply constraints weighed on production in the latter half of the year.
Honda expects to sell fewer vehicles this year than in 2022 due to low inventories to start the year, a result of the global chip shortage.
The global supply of electric-vehicle batteries overwhelmingly comes from Asia:
U.S. Class I railroads collected a record $1.18 billion in revenue from demurrage fees during the first three quarters of 2021.
M. Holland’s 2022 Plastics Industry Trends & Predictions
M. Holland’s market experts weigh in on what we can expect for the plastics industry in 2022. View the infographic and read more on current trends and predictions.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 776,455 new COVID-19 infections and 1,875 virus fatalities Thursday.
The White House doubled its order for at-home COVID-19 tests to send to the American public to 1 billion units, which could begin shipping out as soon as next week.
Nineteen states have less than 15% ICU bed capacity and four states have less than 10% amid the recent surge of COVID-19 patients.
Nurses in the 175,000-member National Nurses United union went on strike across 11 states and Washington, D.C., yesterday, protesting unsafe conditions, staff shortages and a lack of critical medical supplies.
Retail sales fell 1.9% in December, while manufacturing output slid 0.3% due to supply chain issues, the first decline since September.
Navient, a former unit of student-loan giant Sallie Mae, said it would cancel $1.7 billion in private student debt for about 66,000 borrowers to resolve claims over deceptive lending practices. Government losses on student loan debt have climbed above $100 billion amid the pandemic’s pause on payments.
The number of people flying in the U.S. is down 20% this month from the same time in 2019, as airlines report greater fourth-quarter losses and push back forecasts for rebounding travel until late spring and summer.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced $13.4 million of investments into seven large-scale research projects aimed at converting plastic films into more valuable materials and making plastics more recyclable and biodegradable.
International Markets
New COVID-19 cases across the globe rose to 15 million last week, a record, with about one-third coming from the U.S.
The U.K. reduced quarantine periods to five days to help ease staffing shortages in hospitals, schools and businesses. The nation reported 109,133 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, a 24% drop from a week ago.
France reported roughly 305,000 new COVID-19 infections Thursday, down from a record 370,000 the day prior. The nation’s teachers staged a walkout yesterday to protest chaotic and inadequate pandemic safety measures.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Spain are surging, threatening ICU bed capacity in more than half of hospitals.
Sweden reported a record 25,215 new COVID-19 infections Thursday.
Finland and Hungary have reduced pandemic quarantine periods.
Hungary and Denmark will begin offering fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses to some people.
German officials are overriding European regulators to recommend COVID-19 boosters for teens as young as age 12.
China’s commitment to a zero-COVID policy could mean longer and more frequent lockdowns for millions of people soon. International flights to the nation are down to just 500 this week, compared with roughly 10,000 two years ago.
Around 240 million COVID-19 vaccine doses purchased in North America, Asia and Europe are likely to expire unused by March. The number builds on more than 100 million doses that were rejected outright by nations due to upcoming expiration dates.
More than 85% of the African continent’s population has yet to receive a single COVID-19 vaccine dose.
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.
For all COVID-19 updates and notices, please refer to the M. Holland website.
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.