In early 2025, the Trump administration introduced a sweeping series of tariffs policies that marked a sharp shift in U.S. trade strategy. Branded as measures to protect American jobs and industries, these tariffs were part of a broader “America First” economic agenda aimed at reshaping global trade relations. These tariffs are already impacting the... Read more »
In October, a three-day strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) at East and Gulf Coast ports brought the country to a standstill. After reaching a temporary agreement, the strike ended, but the issue is far from resolved. The ILA and U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) agreed to extend the current contract through mid-January while... Read more »
The chemical distribution industry has faced its share of challenges in recent years. High interest rates, excess inventories, and market volatility have been difficult obstacles to navigate. However, Connor Lokar, Senior Forecaster and Economic Consultant at ITR Economics, now part of Crowe LLP, shared a message of optimism for 2025 and beyond during his keynote... Read more »
A combination of shipping delays due to the ongoing issues with the major shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Panama canal, compounded by several force majeure announcements from global manufacturers, have caused a trickle down effect of supply disruptions that could impact your business. With one of the supply interruptions being a key syngas... Read more »
From the start of the pandemic, base oil prices in the U.S. have reached record highs. Since February 2020, posted price gains range from $2 per gallon to nearly $5 per gallon as of May 2022. Prices have greatly fluctuated over this period of time, however, experts anticipate the high prices may remain in... Read more »
Much of the U.S. was hit by a winter storm and sub-zero temperatures, causing widespread power outages in Texas and other parts of the South, bringing freight movement across the country to a near stand-still, and causing multiple petrochemical manufacturers to declare force majeure. The timing of this storm could not be worse, as manufacturing... Read more »
The petrochemical market is reacting to volatility and widespread price increases for the past few consecutive months, leaving many buyers wondering what the reasons are behind it. Companies are especially feeling this added pain just as manufacturing makes its attempt at recovery in the post-pandemic world. Simply stated, there are two primary factors driving these... Read more »
2020 has been a wild and unpredictable year so far, and it seems that trend will continue into the coming months, especially where the automotive market is concerned. We certainly have a lot of factors to consider when trying to forecast but for the most part they all center around one thing: COVID. What the... Read more »
Certainly, doing business in the age of COVID 19 has presented many challenges for companies. Between shutdowns, working from home, and new considerations for the health and safety of employees, this has been a tumultuous year with many changes. But now as we venture into the second half of 2020, where does this leave the... Read more »
Market outlooks remain positive in the chemical sector as we head into 2018. The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), an economic indicator created by The American Chemistry Council (ACC), showed a small gain in December and rose 3.7 percent in a year’s time. The CAB factors production, pricing, inventory and other indicators present in the market. Chemical... Read more »
