More COVID-19 news relevant to the plastics industry:
Supply
Crude prices were modestly lower in early trading with the WTI price at $40.83/bbl and Brent at $43.54/bbl.
As expected, the coalition of oil producing nations led by OPEC agreed yesterday to ease production quotas. A committee will meet next week to plan the increases.
California Resources, California’s largest oil producer, succumbed to its high debt and low oil prices by filing for bankruptcy yesterday.
A federal appeals court ruled that the Dakota Access pipeline connecting oil fields in South Dakota with Chicago can continue operating while it considers a lower court ruling that the pipeline must be shut down due to flaws in the environmental permitting process.
Opponents sued to block Formosa’s planned $9.4 billion petrochemicals project at St. James Parish, Louisiana, over potential environmental damage.
Supply Chain
Operation Safe Driver Week runs through Saturday when law enforcement across the country steps up enforcement for speeding. We are monitoring commercial trucking activity to help assure on-time delivery.
With revenues for Uber Freight, Uber’s freight brokerage business, up 57% in the first quarter, the company is in talks with investors for $500 million in new funding.
Jobless claims declined slightly last week to a higher-than-expected 1.3 million people as the spreading virus forced more state restrictions. More than 51 million jobless claims have been filed in the four months since the pandemic struck.
New COVID-19 infections topped 67,000 for the second straight day, the second highest tally on record.
Arizona, California, Florida and Texas accounted for 36,000 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, more than half of the nation’s total. Texas reported record new cases, and Alabama reported a record for daily fatalities.
Florida, Texas, California and Georgia have the fastest growing case counts:
Arizona, which now has the highest per-capita infection rate in the country, is running out of ICU beds, with eight-hour wait times for testing.
Alabama and Montana issued statewide orders mandating face masks in public indoor spaces, while Georgia’s governor issued an order barring localities in the state from mandating masks.
U.S. industrial production rose a better-than-expected 5.4% in June, the second consecutive monthly increase. Industrial production remained nearly 11% below pre-pandemic levels.
The mortality rate for COVID-19 patients in intensive care has fallen from 60% in March to 42% as methods for care improve.
Mortgage delinquencies soared in April with 6.1% of mortgages past due, versus 3.6% past due in April 2019. The past-due calculation does not include the 8% of mortgages that are in forbearance.
American Airlines notified 25,000 employees that their jobs may disappear when the government’s payroll assistance program ends in October. Pre-pandemic, the company employed about 130,000.
Commercial aircraft deliveries have plunged during the pandemic:
Boeing’s order book shrank by 183 aircraft in June, when it delivered only 10 aircraft.
Amazon is extending its work-from-home option for office workers until January 8, 2021.
Nissan plans to produce about 30% fewer vehicles for the remainder of the year compared with the prior-year level.
Stellantis has been selected as the name for the automaker that emerges when Italy’s Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot complete their planned merger early next year.
Full-service restaurants raised menu prices 0.9% in June, and many are charging COVID-19 surcharges as they deal with rising food costs and operating costs.
The Federal Reserve has formed a task force to address the shortage of coins in circulation because of the recession, prompting many retailers to mandate credit- and debit-card transactions only. Kroger will no longer make change nationwide.
Total COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S. approached 138,000 yesterday.
International
China returned to growth in the second quarter with GDP up 3.2%, fueled by a rise in government-encouraged industrial output as retail sales continued to fall. Continued momentum will hinge in part on exports, where the spreading virus elsewhere is clouding the outlook.
The Bank of Japan lowered its 2020 growth forecast to a negative 4.7% and expects prices to fall 0.5%.
France will mandate face masks in all public indoor spaces starting next week to tame a recent outbreak.
With its public debt now above 120% of GDP, France plans to separate pandemic-related debt and repay it over 20 years.
Japan’s government suspended a planned campaign to attract tourists after Tokyo reported record infections yesterday as a flare-up that began in the nightclub district expands through community spread.the world’s largest economy and will further distance itself this year as it grows and the U.S. contracts:
Our Operations
To access 3D printing training, order parts and seek technical assistance, visit our new online resource.
Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets. To arrange a videoconference or meeting with any of our Market Managers, please visit our website.
M. Holland’s official status statement is available here.
Thank you,
M. Holland Company
We will provide further COVID-19 bulletins as circumstances dictate. 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.