Industry News
Chemical Industry News
China’s domestic spot urea drops on softer futures
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s domestic spot urea prices softened due to declined futures prices. Urea futures prices at Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) dropped on Monday, undermining spot market...
Air Products, Yara plan tie-up on US, Saudi Arabia ammonia projects
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Industrial gases supplier Air Products is partnering with Oslo-listed crop nutrition and ammonia company Yara International on ammonia projects in the US and Saudi Arabia, the...
European toluene demand stabilises
LONDON (ICIS)--Spot premiums for European toluene fell again throughout the week ending 5 December. Demand for toluene has returned to levels seen around October time. Market players noted that this...
Europe toluene December contract price assessed at decrease
LONDON (ICIS)--The European toluene December contract price has been assessed at a $25/tonne decrease from November. The December contract price was assessed at $840/tonne on a FOB (free on board)...
ICIS TTF Early Day assessments: 8 December 2025
- The weather is generally expected to be very mild, especially across northern and central Europe. This widespread warmth, combined with low wind speeds forecast for Italy, the Alps, and the...
BLOG: One door opens as another closes for the chemical industry
LONDON (ICIS)--Click here to see the latest blog post on Chemicals & The Economy by Paul Hodges, which suggests President Trump’s trade war means chemical companies need to move to...
China Nov crude import increases 4.9% to 50.9 million tonnes
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s crude import reached 50.9 million tonnes in November, the second highest after March this year, data from China Customs showed on Monday. The volume represents a 4.9%...
China acetic acid run rate down on plants shutdown
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China acetic acid plants’ average run rate fell due to shutdowns at Celanese and Sinopec Great Wall. But Sinopec Great Wall is in the process of restarting its plant on 8...
Intra-Asia C3 arbitrage hampered on south China expansions
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Intra-Asia propylene (C3) movements from southeast Asia to northeast Asia will be hampered in 2026 amid greater length in the south China region. Southeast Asian supply pressure to...
Plant status: China’s Ningbo Huanyang to restart ECH units in H1 January
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Ningbo Huanyang New Material Location: Ningbo, Zhejiang, China Product: Epichlorohydrin (ECH) Capacity (tonnes/year): 30,000 + 30,000 + 30,000...
Arkema and Semcorp sign a strategic partnership in battery separators
Arkema and Semcorp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating innovation in battery separator technologies and supporting Semcorp in its international expansion. As part of this strategic
High-energy-density barocaloric material could enable smaller, lighter solid-state cooling devices
A collaborated research team from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has discovered a high-energy-density barocaloric effect in the plastic superionic conductor Ag₂Te₁₋ₓSₓ.
KAIST unveils cause of performance degradation in electric vehicle high-nickel batteries
High-nickel batteries, which are high-energy lithium-ion batteries primarily used in electric vehicles, offer high energy density but suffer from rapid performance degradation. A research team from KAIST has, for the first time globally, identified the
GPCA ’25: Collaboration to drive discourse for annual GPCA Forum in Bahrain
MANAMA, Bahrain (ICIS)--Amid trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, global oversupply and weak demand, the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) chemical industry is being urged to prioritize...
Phoenix Technologies confirms Ohio recycling plant closure in November lay-off notice
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Per the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice published on 19 November 2025, Phoenix Technologies, a subsidiary of APG Polytech USA Holdings, will lay off 7...
MOVES: Brazil Potash appoints Leite as president of Brazilian subsidiary
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Brazil Potash announced it has appointed Sergio Leite as president of Potassio do Brasil, the company’s Brazilian subsidiary with responsible for the development and construction of...
Asia-US container rates mixed as carriers use smaller, more frequent hikes to halt slide
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US were mixed this week as import demand remains soft, capacity ample, but some rate hikes have gained traction. Rates...
NYMEX: US gas futures continue to rise on winter weather conditions, strong LNG feedgas demand
Front-month US natural gas futures rose on 5 December on bullish demand on record high LNG feedgas nominations, and cold weather throughout the country The January 2025 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX...
CRUDE SUMMARY: Rising geopolitical risk premium, US Fed rate cut optimism push crude prices higher
Skepticism regarding US-proposed Russia-Ukraine peace deal Heightened US-Venezuela tensions add to risk premium US PCE rises 2.8% in September, boosting US interest rate cut expectations US oil rig...
Germany Nov new-car sales rise 3%, EV sales on track for record year
LONDON (ICIS)--Sales of new cars in Germany rose 3% year on year in November, led by a 58% jump in electric vehicle (EV) sales, according to data from the German Association of the Automotive...