More COVID-19 news relevant to the plastics industry:
Supply
After slipping on Thursday, crude prices were higher in early trading with the WTI price at $41.39/bbl and Brent at $43.58/bbl.
Schlumberger took a $3.7 billion charge against second quarter earnings and plans to cut 21,000 jobs. The oil services giant expects modest improvement in the third quarter.
New fracking wells should climb above 400 this month, up from 325 in June, with the Permian Basin showing the most new activity. The summer curtailment of drilling activity is likely to result in a production slump in the fall, as new wells tend to lose half their output in the first year of production.
Shale producers are facing a credit squeeze as a drop in oil and gas reserve values shrank the borrowing base for collateralized loans by 23% this spring, and banks remain cautious about lending in the space.
Dow plans to cut its 36,500-employee workforce by 6%.
Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to hit the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, and hurricane warnings were issued in some parts of the Caribbean in anticipation of Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which is strengthening in the Atlantic Ocean.
Supply Chain
Canada’s crude-by-rail exports fell 63% in May from April’s level, hitting a four-year low.
The U.S. Mint, citing pandemic-related issues in supply channels, appealed to the public to use more coins and make exact change to mitigate a coin shortage.
We continue to experience challenges with truck deliveries, particularly LTL shipments, due to labor shortages and operational delays caused by COVID-19 protocols. Clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help assure delivery dates will be met.
Beyond the transportation challenges, our Gold Standard logistics partners and U.S. ports continue to operate without interruption.
Markets
As U.S. COVID-19 cases crossed the 4 million milestone yesterday, the pace of infection doubled in the last six weeks, with the most recent 1 million cases registered in just 15 days.
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. topped 1,100 yesterday for the third day in a row.
The Senate failed to escalate a new economic relief package from committee to the floor for vote, with details regarding jobless subsidies and school funding unsettled. A vote is expected next week, not soon enough for millions of people whose current $600 unemployment subsidies expire this weekend.
The four-month moratorium on renter evictions contained in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act expires today, putting the 12 million renters previously protected by the program at risk of eviction.
More than half of respondents to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey say the pandemic is affecting their mental health, and most believe the worst impacts are yet to come.
Revenues for the country’s largest airlines fell more than 80% in the second quarter.
Unilever’s demand for hand sanitizers soared 20,000% in the second quarter, and the company has expanded capacity by 600-fold during the pandemic, growing its manufacturing sites for hand sanitizer from two to more than 60.
Testing labs are encountering shortages of plastic pipette tips and other lab supplies as COVID-19 cases rise and testing demand soars.
Face masks are proving to be the most effective single method to ward off infection:
Medical technology company Celsium has developed a medically approved, wearable temperature sensor that can continuously transmit body temperature data via Bluetooth to a mobile device.
Hershey is moderating Halloween-themed candy production in anticipation of a disrupted trick-or-treat night, which accounts for about half of its Halloween sales.
The back-to-school and upcoming holiday seasons will be critical to determining how many of the nearly 2 million unemployed retail workers will return to their jobs. About one-in-four U.S. jobs are connected to the retail industry.
One New York COVID-19 patient nicknamed “Miracle Larry” was released from the hospital yesterday after 128 days, including 51 on a ventilator.
At the current pace of growth, plastic pollution in oceans will triple by 2040, according to a recent study.
The Department of Homeland Security is again giving New York residents access to its Global Entry and Trusted Traveler programs after suspending enrollment in February over immigration differences.
The German manufacturing sector broke a string of 19 consecutive months of contraction, with July’s Purchasing Managers’ Index inching to 50.0.
The economic recovery in the Asia region may be stalling:
South Korea, Asia’s fourth largest economy, saw GDP contract by a larger-than-expected 2.9% in the second quarter as exports suffered the steepest drop since 1963.
A government think tank in Vietnam lowered its growth projections for the nation’s economy for 2020 to 2.1%, compared with previous government estimates of 3% to 4%.
Industrial output in Singapore in June increased just 0.2% over the prior month and was down 6.7% from June 2019.
Australia’s government warned that GDP will show a 7% contraction for the second quarter, the largest since WWII.
China’s recovery, fueled by aggressive government incentives, has been clouded by slow exports and heightened geopolitical tensions with the U.S., according to a Reuters’ poll.
We’re seeing strong demand in Asia, but are mindful of softening signals.
China ordered the U.S. to close its consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu in retaliation for the federal government’s shutdown of China’s consulate in Houston early this week.
Brazil recorded nearly 60,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, its second highest daily infection rate, raising total infections to nearly 2.3 million.
India reported 49,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, a daily record, and passed France to take sixth place among nations with the most deaths — nearly 31,000.
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.