US LLDPE exporters made big gains in January 2022 until January 2025 thanks to their cost advantages and China’s lower import tariffs.
Asian Chemical Connections
Why Artificial Intelligence Is Not a Dot-Com Bubble Mark II
IF WE END UP in recession we need to spend more and not less on artificial intelligence
Beyond the China growth miracle: The three things you should do in 2025
IN ALL THE MUDDLE about demand, there are three actions you can take today to give clarity to your business plans
Two connected words of the year for 2025: “Protectionism” and “China”
LOTS OF FOCUS has been on the Trump effect on the US trading relationship with China. But we need to think more broadly than this. I see a significant risk that next year we will see trade tensions increasing between other countries and China for the reasons described in today’s post
Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire cat and the chemicals industry
Chemicals companies need to decide where they are heading now that the Supercycle is over
Stop wasting time waiting for the end of the downcycle
THE TEN REASONS why this isn’t a standard chemical industry downcycle
Latest China PP data: The old Supercycle world retreats further into the past
The major PP exporters to China continue their sales turnover shrink on rising self-sufficiency weak pricing and poor demand growth
Don’t put sustainability in a broom cupboard in the basement
How the chemicals world could re-align as sustainability becomes a new route to competitive advantage
Petrochemicals three years from now: A shrinking global market?
MORE THAN 70% of global polyethylene demand is at risk from ageing populations, climate change and geopolitics.
China events suggest no global petchems recovery until 2026
Capacity growth of just 1.6m tonnes a year versus our base case of 5m tonnes a year would require substantial capacity closures in some regions. Closures are never easy and so take considerable time because of links with upstream refineries, environmental clean-up and redundancy costs – and the reluctance to be the “first plant out” in case markets suddenly recover.
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