COVID-19 Bulletin: October 9

October 9, 2020 • Posted in Daily Bulletin, News

Good Afternoon,

More news relevant to the plastics industry:

Some sources linked are subscription services.

Supply

Supply Chain

  • Hurricane Delta, a Category 3 storm, is expected to make landfall on the Louisiana coastline Friday evening. It is the sixth hurricane to strike the U.S. gulf in the past several months.
  • The approaching hurricane has curtailed port operations along the Gulf Coast.
  • Much of Japan is being battered by slow-moving Typhoon Chan-hom as it passes along the nation’s southern coast.
  • As 22 major wildfires continue to burn in California, the forecast calls for the possibility of light rain Saturday in Northern California with dry conditions returning next week.
  • The month of September saw a 7.1% year-over-year increase in containers and trailers carried by U.S. railroads. It was the fourth-busiest month ever for intermodal rail traffic.
  • Global freight container traffic jumped 1.5% in August, the first year-over-year increase in traffic since the pandemic began.
  • India is exploiting disruption in global supply chains by subsidizing 16 manufacturers of mobile phones and electronic parts to strengthen its position as a global manufacturing center and fulfill more domestic demand.
  • With tight freight capacity nationwide and supply constraints with many plastic resins, clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help ensure delivery dates.

Markets

  • The U.S. reported more than 56,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest level since mid-August and second-most behind more than 78,000 new cases in India. The death toll in the U.S. has passed 211,000, with 961 reported Thursday.
  • Average daily infections are averaging more than 45,000 this week, an 8% increase from last week’s average.
  • Thirty-two states have rising infection trends this week.
  • On Thursday, New York and New Jersey both recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases since May. State officials are anticipating a second wave as the weather gets colder and people stay indoors.
  • Wisconsin and the Dakotas lead all states in new COVID-19 cases per capita with hospital beds filling up rapidly.
  • After vacillating earlier this week, the White House is again signaling support for a large-scale stimulus bill. The house speaker and treasury secretary resumed talks on the bill Thursday.
  • The U.S. budget deficit hit a record $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year ended September 30, triple the deficit in 2019 and 15.2% of GDP, the highest percentage since 1945.
  • Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal believe jobs in the U.S. won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 or later.
New Jobs Stagnating in US

International

  • A surge of 96,996 new COVID-19 cases in Europe Thursday sealed a record increase in global one-day infections (338,000+), according to the World Health Organization. Cases are rising in 54 countries, with surges in Europe, Canada and Argentina.
  • Poland registered record daily COVID-19 infections today for the fourth consecutive day.
  • The Czech Republic has registered record COVID-19 infections for the past three days.
  • New infections in Russia topped 12,000 today, a record.
  • Governments across Europe held emergency sessions to plan countermeasures against the spreading virus, including new shutdowns and social distancing mandates.
  • GDP in the U.K. rose a disappointing 2.1% in August, less than half analyst estimates and a third of the growth rate in July, indicating its recovery is slowing. Output remains 10% below pre-pandemic levels.
  • China, which has experienced no community spread of COVID-19 since early August, saw a surge in domestic travel and tourism in its just ended Golden Week holiday.
  • China has joined an $18 billion effort backed by the World Health Organization to help provide lower-income countries with an eventual COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Cautious Japanese consumers pocketed government stimulus handouts, sending the nation’s savings rate to 44% through August, a two-decade high.
  • The mental health toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is reflected in Japan, where the increasing number of suicides this year outnumbers virus deaths by more than 10,000.
  • The U.S. Federal Reserve joined six other central banks in a meeting today to plan for eventual digital currencies.
  • Japan will begin testing a digital currency next year.

Our Operations

  • 3D Market Manager Haleyanne Freedman and Jacob Fallon, Braskem’s Technology Engineer for 3D Printing, co-hosted a webinar on Polypropylene Advancements in 3D Printing this week. Watch the recording here.
  • Stop by M. Holland’s virtual booth at IWCS to meet our team of Wire & Cable experts. The M. Holland team is exhibiting October 15-16 from 8 am to 1 pm ET. Click here to learn more.
  • Plastics News featured an article on our new partnership with JL Goor in Ireland
  • Global Healthcare Manager Josh Blackmore will be a featured speaker at the Plastics in Healthcare Virtual Edition, sponsored by Plastics News, October 26-30. The title of his talk: Applying the Lessons from the First Wave of COVID-19 to Successfully Navigate the Second
  • 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.

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.

Stay informed with industry trends and insights.

Stay informed with industry trends and insights.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.