Oil prices rose for the fourth straight session Tuesday to their highest close since October of 2014, a day after OPEC decided not to accelerate its plan for gradually relaxing production cuts. Prices have climbed 63% so far this year, amplifying inflationary pressures weighing on the world economy.
Natural gas futures rallied Tuesday, jumping 9.5% to the highest level since 2008 amid tight global supplies heading into the winter heating season. The squeeze has hit Europe particularly hard, where the benchmark gas price reached $36/MMBtu for the first time ever (equivalent to roughly $205/bbl of oil), while gas prices in the U.K. surged 23% to around $42/MMBtu.
Crude futures were lower in morning trading, with WTI down 2.1% at $77.31/bbl and Brent down 2.0% at $80.95/bbl. Natural gas was 7.1% lower at $5.89/MMBtu.
The national average for a gallon of regular gas rose to $3.20 Tuesday, AAA reported, the highest since 2014 and a 47% rise from the same time last year. Analysts predict gasoline prices to rise faster in the coming weeks following the recent surge in oil.
Russian producer Rosneft entered a long-term agreement to supply oil to Dutch trader Vitol, restoring a relationship that ended when their last contract expired in 2018.
India’s power industry is beginning to run short of coal, threatening a power crunch in the country that relies on the fuel for around 70% of electricity generation. Inventories hit the lowest level since November of 2017 last week.
A new British program aimed at recruiting migrant drivers to deliver fuel supplies has attracted only 127 applications so far out of roughly 5,000 estimated to be needed.
France lost more than 5% of its nuclear production capacity Tuesday following employee strikes.
Hundreds more people will be deployed to help clean up coastal California’s 13-acre oil spill, state and local officials announced, as a 13-inch split in a sea bottom pipeline was identified as a likely source of the leak.
Spanish major Repsol upped its 2030 capacity target for renewable energy generation by 60%, along with making new pledges to cut emissions in its oil and gas unit.
Our most recent list of force majeure and allocation announcements from suppliers is here.
Available capacity in the logistics industry shrank from August to September, data from the latest Logistics Managers’ Index shows.
Holiday demand could be up as much as 9% this year, according to Deloitte, but supply chain disruptions and empty store shelves could become the Grinch that stole Christmas.
U.S. and Asian port congestion prompted a greater number of shippers to switch from sea transport to air cargo to stock retail shelves in time for the holiday season.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand all reported rising factory shutdowns in recent weeks caused by COVID-19 outbreaks, spelling more trouble for global supply chains that depend on the nations as a production hub for the world’s largest consumer brands.
Capesize bulker rates rose 5% to $80,000 Tuesday, the highest level since 2008.
The average long-term contract price to ship a 40-foot container from Asia to the U.S. rose to $4,979 Tuesday, more than double the contract rates from a year ago.
DHL is raising U.S. shipping rates by 5.9% in January, matching FedEx’s recent rate hike.
The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index soared to an all-time high Tuesday as a global resurgence in demand for raw materials collides with supply constraints.
Some 90% of home builders report shortages of plywood, strand board, framing lumber, windows and doors, and major appliances.
Third-quarter deliveries from heavy-duty truck maker Paccar are expected to be down 7,000 compared to the second quarter, a result of production hits caused by the global chip shortage. Daimler Trucks also lowered its 2022 sales forecast for the same reason.
All 155,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the nation’s largest metalworkers union, have gone on strike.
The unexpected thawing of Russia’s frozen permafrost is threatening national infrastructure, causing corrosion leaks at mines and plants, and permanently damaging residential buildings.
For a partial list of automotive disruptions caused by semiconductor and component shortages, clickhere.
Our Logistics team reports the following:
Bulk trucking capacity is very limited as demand is exceeding supply.
Dry van (full, partial and less-than-truckload) capacity is very limited as demand exceeds supply.
Port congestion continues to be very problematic, delaying deliveries of imported containers.
Due to port congestion and other factors, we are seeing inventory buildups at our sites near ports.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 95,756 new COVID-19 infections and 1,916 virus fatalities Tuesday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. dropped 29% the last two weeks of September.
Due to its low seven-day COVID-19 infection rate, California is currently the only state to fall under the CDC’s “moderate” virus transmission warning.
Generation X, comprising people aged 41 to 56, has enjoyed a financial windfall during the pandemic, adding $13 trillion in assets over the last 15 months, a 50% increase. Generation Xers’ share of the nation’s wealth rose to nearly 30%, while the shares of Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation fell.
Nearly 20% of U.S. workers could remain fully remote after the pandemic, new data suggests.
Private jobs grew by a higher-than-expected 568,000 in September, according to ADP.
Manhattan apartment sales rose to 4,523 in the third quarter, the most in three decades as New York City’s housing market continues to recover from the pandemic.
The U.S. trade deficit rose 4.2% in August to $73.3 billion, a record high, as a small gain in exports was swamped by a much larger gain in imports.
GM announced plans to open a battery-cell development center in Michigan to help lower costs and increase the driving range of electric vehicles with lithium-ion and solid-state batteries.
Single-use food containers made from Styrofoam are more environmentally friendly compared to reusable containers due to the low amounts of raw material and electricity needed to produce them, new research shows.
Facebook’s six-hour outage Monday left more than 2.9 billion users unable to access its services, including Instagram and WhatsApp, the result of cascading failures after a simple technical mistake.
Daily COVID-19 cases in Poland are up 70% over the past week as the country’s fourth virus wave intensifies.
New COVID-19 infections in Romania rose to more than 15,000 Tuesday, the most since the start of the pandemic.
Normally frenzied travel activity during China’s “Golden Week” is more than 30% below 2019 levels, as the nation remains the last major country to seek the complete eradication of COVID-19 with strict lockdowns and other restrictions.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Israel hit a two-month low following the nation’s recent focus on administering booster vaccines.
The Philippines pushed back its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of its population against COVID-19 by several months to February 2022.
Multiple research groups around the world are working to develop pan-coronavirus vaccines that would protect people from multiple strains of the virus, including those yet to emerge.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts global economic growth in 2021 will dip slightly below earlier predictions of 6% due to risks linked to debt, inflation and supply chain disruption.
Euro zone retail sales were weaker in August as consumers reined in spending on food, drinks and tobacco.
German industrial orders fell more than expected in August on weaker export demand cause by supply chain disruptions, including a massive 12% drop-off in orders for cars and automotive parts.
New Zealand’s central bank hiked interest rates Wednesday for the third time in seven years and signaled further tightening to come, as it looks to stay ahead of rising inflation and a red-hot housing market.
A shortage of skilled research and engineering specialists could hamper global goals to swiftly transition to battery-powered electric vehicles.
Japan reaffirmed its pledge to reduce emissions 46% by 2030, likely to come from increased adoption of nuclear production. Meanwhile, one of the nation’s state-run energy firms is working on creating a global standard for measuring greenhouse gas emissions in the LNG industry.
Sweden’s Volvo received an order for 100 electric trucks for short- and long-haul shipping firm DFDS, the biggest commercial electric-truck order to date.
At M. Holland
M. Holland’s 3D Printing group offers a rapid response alternative for producing selected parts where resin availability is tight during prevailing force majeure. 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.