Supply Chain Research

Russian invasion of Ukraine adds additional strain to stretched supply chains

March 1, 2022

The Russian offensive in Ukraine is likely to result in much human tragedy. The fallout from the conflict is also expected to spread into global supply chains and impact economies in Eastern Europe and beyond. The first-order effects may come from the mounting economic sanctions imposed by the... Read more →

Plastic’s fantastic import price rise shows supply chain inflation risks

April 14, 2021

U.S. supply chain inflation accelerated in March with U.S. import prices having increased by 6.9% year over year while the underlying figure excluding food and fuels rose by 3.8%. The latter’s price index of 102.9 was the highest since April 2013, confirming the increased inflation rate is not... Read more →

Indian Potash, Coromandel fertilizer imports may wilt as prices peak

February 23, 2021

A surge in potash pricing may lead to a reduction in imports to Indian for the fertilizer as the “consumption of potash is very price sensitive” according to Indian Potash’s MD, P.S. Gahlaut. India was the second largest importer of fertilizers more broadly in 2019 with 11.0% of global import... Read more →

Freight, furniture feeds import inflation as Fed flags supply chain constraints

February 18, 2021

The U.S. Federal Reserve has noted “there could be increases in the prices of some goods whose production has been subject to supply chain constraints, or soon could be” in the latest FOMC minutes. Corporations in most industries tracked by Panjiva have already flagged higher shipping and comm... Read more →

Shin Etsu, Sasol among exporters facing Texas freeze

February 17, 2021

Freezing weather conditions have led the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to call on LNG exporters Freeport and Cheniere to cut their natural gas draw from the grid to free up supplies for domestic use. Exports of LNG from Texas climbed 25.7% year over year in Q4’20 and hit a record in December... Read more →

Kuraray sees COVID-19 drag into 2021 as PVA shipments surge

August 18, 2020

Specialty chemicals maker Kuraray reported an 8.8% drop in Q2 revenues. It expects an 11.4% slide in the full year due to disruptions linked to COVID-19 with “ongoing stagnation in demand in the third quarter and beyond” while “effects will last into 2021 and beyond”. U.S. seaborne imports lin... Read more →

2020 Outlook: Come for the Commitments, Stay for the Enforcement – Trade War Show Season 4 Begins

January 16, 2020

The U.S. and China have signed the long-awaited phase 1 trade deal, ending a process of escalation – which we’ve referred to as the Trade War Show – which has run since Aug. 2017. This report summarizes the key points of the phase 1 deal as well as providing a detailed history of the trade war... Read more →

Yara, Mosaic May Have Bigger Hormuz Exposure in Brazil Than Petrobras

January 13, 2020

New U.S. sanctions against Iranian exports of metals and other products, combined with a widening reluctance of commodity shippers such as Petrobras to navigate the Straits of Hormuz may make life more complex for the Brazilian economy. While the Middle East only represents 1.0% of Brazil’s oi... Read more →

Dow, Chevron May Be Helped By China’s Chemical Gesture

December 20, 2019

The Chinese government has exempted six products exported by the U.S. – including white mineral oil, paraffin wax and four ethylene cycle chemicals – from import duties as a goodwill gesture during phase 1 trade deal talks. Total U.S. exports of the six products were worth $6.2 billion in the ... Read more →

India Wields the Tariff Stick Against Pakistan as Total Imports Wane

February 18, 2019

India’s international trade activity increased by just 1.4% year over year in January. While that was marginally better than December it included imports that were unchanged year over year. The latter was largely down to a collapse in import of commodities including crude oil products, down 3.... Read more →

Supply Chain Research

Showing research about Energy - PetChem