Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Plant status: China’s Yulong Petrochemical shuts PP Line 4
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Shandong Yulong PC Location: Longkou, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 400,000 Event start: 2 September Event finish:...
S Korea isomer MX prices up amid higher Oct negotiations
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Spot prices of isomer grade mixed xylenes (MX) from South Korea were higher on 3 September, tracking firmer negotiations seen for October loading cargoes. Discussion levels were...
NYMEX: US natural gas futures rise despite moderate weather demand
US natural gas futures rose on 3 September, despite moderate weather-driven demand The October ’25 front-month contract climbed to $3.064/MMBtu, up nearly 2% from the prior session Analysts expect...
Mexico’s manufacturing exits year-long contraction on healthy new orders growth
SAO PAULO (ICIS)--After more than one year in contraction territory, in August Mexico’s petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing companies surveyed said output had expanded thanks to strong growth in...
INTERVIEW: UP-NS railroad merger would weaken competition, not improve service – ACC
HOUSTON (ICIS)--The largest US chemical trade association will urge federal regulators to reject the announced merger between US Class 1 railroads Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) unless...
Plant Status: TPC Group restarting US Texas BD unit after weather outage
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: TPC Group Location: Houston, Texas, US Product: Butadiene Capacity (tonnes/year): 508,000 Event start: 31 August Reason: Power outage due to...
CRUDE SUMMARY: Oil prices down following concerns OPEC+ are considering further supply increases
Concerns OPEC+ announcing additional supply at upcoming meeting Disappointing US economic data weighed on demand outlook Deepening ties between Russia, China and India could have structural impacts...
CDI US August styrene prices finalized
Contract prices for US styrene have been finalized for August 2025. The August large tank car price was assessed at 50.50 cents/lb and the blended contract price was assessed at 43.9...
CDI US August ethylene contract prices finalized
Contract prices for US ethylene have been finalized for August 2025. The contract price settled at 32.0 cents/lb, down 0.25 cents/lb from the prior...
Q2 US EO exports increase 30% YoY due to chronic EO production shortages in Mexico
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Q2 exports of US ethylene oxide (EO) increased over 30% year over year, and almost 52% year to date compared to the same time period in 2024. Additionally, exports from January to...
Brazil’s chems output keeps above water but wider manufacturing, economy fast slowing down
SAO PAULO (ICIS)--Brazilian chemical products output increased 1.8% in July, compared with June, while overall industrial activity declined 0.2% as the sector outperformed amid broader...
Plant status: Plant status: Mexico Pemex shuts LDPE plant
SAO PAULO (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Pemex Location: La Cangrejera, Mexico Product: Low density polyethylene (LDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year): 105,000 Event start: 22 August Event...
European refinery solvents see no price impact so far from rumoured production issues
LONDON (ICIS)--European refinery solvents free delivered (FD) spot prices were steady this week for solvent naphtha (C9) and white spirit but were stable to soft for hexane. Unconfirmed production...
N America chemical rail traffic rises for third week, US up 4.9%
HOUSTON (ICIS)--North American chemical rail traffic rose 2.6% year on year to 50,920 railcar loadings for the week ended 30 August, according to freight rail data released on Wednesday. Loadings,...
US slams sanctions-busting Arctic LNG 2, as China and Russia deepen gas ties
HOUSTON (ICIS)--After China received a delivery of a US-sanctioned cargo from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, a US State Department spokesperson confirmed to ICIS that US sanctions against Russia...
Winter uncertainty drives Europe’s gas price premium to Asia LNG
Europe holds a small premium over East Asian LNG in week 36, driven by fundamental risks and geopolitical uncertainty Europe is expected to maintain this premium through the winter to cover storage...
Plant status: BASF ethanolamines turnaround in Belgium scheduled for October – market sources
LONDON (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: BASF Location: Antwerp, Belgium Product: Ethanolamines Capacity (tonnes/year): 110,000 Event start: H1 October Event finish: H1 November Reason:...
European PVC spot prices stable-to-soft on feedstocks, low demand
LONDON (ICIS)--European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) spot prices were stable-to-soft in the week ending 25 August because of weak demand during the holiday season. FD (free delivered) domestic spot...
ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is the 2025 ICIS CEO of the Year
NEW YORK (ICIS)--ICIS is pleased to announce Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO and Executive Chairman of XRG, as the...
EU aims to use demand aggregation to scale up US energy purchases
EU aims to use demand aggregation to scale up US energy purchases under US trade deal Joint-purchasing models have had mixed success previously Announced EU energy purchase volumes from US are not...