Issue 22/2020 - Global Chemicals Quick Facts

The global polymer catalyst market is beginning to recover

Alain Rynwalt, Vice President of Polymer Catalysts at Nolion, a global leader in specialty chemicals, said: "The pandemic has had the hardest impact on demand for polymers for automotive and durable goods, with a smaller impact on demand for polymers used in construction, while demand for polymers for packaging and personal protective facilities has been relatively strong
.
"Regionally, China's polymer catalyst demand was most affected in the first quarter, while the decline in demand in other regions was mainly evident
in the second and third quarters.
Hudson La Force, president and CEO of global catalyst giant Grace Company, also believes that global demand for polymer catalysts is strengthening in the third quarter, saying: "Demand for polyolefin catalysts in all regions and in all sectors of the world is improving
.
The non-durable goods end market continues to perform strongly, especially in the hygiene and packaging sectors, which show signs of recovery, but demand in some specific sectors will remain below 2019 levels
next year.
”

The Japanese lubricants market is showing signs of recovery

Data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on October 30 showed that Japan consumed 109012 kiloliters of finished lubricants in September, down year-on-year, but up compared with August this year, which means that the Japanese lubricant market is beginning to show signs of
recovery.
Japan's lubricant consumption in September fell 22% year-on-year, but increased by 7%
from the consumption of 101588 kiloliters in August.
In September, Japan's lubricant production, including exports, was 167528 kiloliters, down 6%
year-on-year.
Japan's imports and exports of lubricants decreased
compared with the same period last year.
Japan's lubricant imports in September fell 47% year-on-year to 9,425 kiloliters, down from 17,829 kiloliters in September last year; Exports fell by 17% to 71,235 kilolitres, down from 85,372 kilolitres
in September last year.
The decline may be due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the various measures taken to contain its spread, including drastically reducing the purchase of items such as personal travel and reducing the number of cars
.

Strong demand growth in industries such as packaging supports the polyolefin market

The global polyolefin market is expected to decline
in 2020 due to weaker end-market demand in applications such as construction, automotive and industrial.
However, data analytics firm GlobalData said the weak demand for polyolefins caused by the pandemic was partly offset
by strong demand growth in industries such as packaging, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and healthcare.
As for the weak demand for polyolefins, David Leggett, an automotive analyst at GlobalData, said: "The epidemic will reduce the sales of the global automotive industry by 16%~17%
this year.
Although the global automotive market is in a recovery phase, it is not expected to return to the previous level of potential demand until 2023"
.
At the same time, while some industries are struggling, consumer behavior has spurred strong growth
in demand for polyolefins for FMCG and packaging.

The pandemic has eroded the competitive advantage of U.
S.
petrochemical producers

Cheap natural gas has given U.
S.
petrochemical producers an edge over competitors across the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but the pandemic has weakened
U.
S.
petrochemical producers' competitive advantage 。 The collapse in oil prices has had a twofold effect, reducing feedstock costs for non-U.
S.
companies on the one hand and increasing feedstock costs for U.
S.
companies, as the collapse in crude oil prices has forced shale oil producers in the Permian Basin to cut production sharply, resulting in a reduction in associated natural gas production, resulting in a 25% increase in U.
S.
natural gas prices from the beginning of the year, while oil prices have fallen by 35%, so the recovery is expected to be slower, which also weakens the advantage
that U.
S.
producers rely on when building new petrochemical plants.