North American olefin production capacity may be in excess!

With the continued development of North American olefin capacity expansion, new North American olefin and polyolefin capacity is about to be put into operation

Substantial expansion of capacity is urgently needed for export

According to the ICIS supply and demand database, polyethylene production capacity in the United States and Canada in 2022 will increase by about 3 million tons per year compared to 2021, with a capacity increase of more than 10%

"North American polyethylene producers have to increase exports, and they are praying that demand and logistics will be met," said Brian Pruitt, senior vice president of polyethylene and polypropylene at ICIS's chemical data company

The export market is difficult to digest

However, at present, the Asian market may not be able to undertake such a huge export of olefins

Data from the ICIS supply and demand database shows that in 2022, global polyethylene production capacity will increase by about 8 million tons per year compared with 2021, an increase of about 7%, most of which will not come from North America, but from China

Another important export market, India, is also actively replacing local production capacity

Keep an eye on the Asian market

Recently, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell, the world's major polyethylene producers, said on the fourth-quarter earnings conference call last year that U.

American companies still have great expectations for the Asian market, especially the Chinese market

Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitlin is also paying close attention to the Asian market, especially the Chinese market