COVID-19 Bulletin: September 4

Good Afternoon,

More pandemic news relevant to the plastics industry:

Some sources linked are subscription services.

Supply

• Crude prices were modestly higher in early trading today, with the WTI at $41.67/bbl and Brent at $44.3/bbl. 
• Mexico will likely cut its production goal for state-owned Pemex in the upcoming budget as oil revenues this year are running at 56% of the 2020 goal due to low prices and production shortfalls.
• Colorado natural gas driller Ursa Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Supply Chain

• Polypropylene and polyethylene supplies are extremely tight in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
• Major truckers are seeing rising tonnage and spot prices as factories and retailers replenish inventories in anticipation of continued economic recovery.   
• A dangerous heat wave is expected to grip the Western U.S. over the Labor Day weekend. 
• We anticipate the Labor Day holiday will cause roadway congestion this weekend and early next week, impacting trucking capacity, pricing and performance. 
• The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has scheduled its (USA/CAN/MEX) Roadcheck for Sept. 9th through the 11th – we expect this to reduce capacity and service levels for the week.
• Clients are advised to provide expanded lead times on orders to help ensure delivery dates will be met.

Markets

• The U.S. recorded 36,506 new COVID-19 infections and 1,070 deaths yesterday. 
• The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation raised its projection for U.S. COVID-19 deaths to more than 410,000 by January, more than double the nearly 190,000 deaths so far, with the daily death toll reaching 3,000 in December. 
• Twenty-four states are experiencing rising trends for new COVID-19 cases this week. 
• The nation’s top infectious disease doctor warned that the Labor Day holiday could spark an increase in COVID-19 infections, with particular concern for 7 Midwestern states — North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois. 
• Ohio commenced wastewater monitoring in 22 cities, an emerging method for early detection of COVID-19 outbreaks.   
• Nearly 1.4 million jobs were added in August, lowering the unemployment rate to 8.4%. 
• Law and medical school grads are facing career delays with the postponement of licensing exams due to the pandemic. 
• The federal deficit soared to a twelve-year monthly high in July on a surge in imports and a more modest gain in exports. 
• Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings slowed in August but remained 17% higher than in August 2019. 
• Global investment banks are experiencing an unexpected pandemic windfall, with revenues up more than 30% on investment banking fees from cash-hungry clients and trading revenue in the soaring stock market. 
• Despite a 20% drop in car sales, the average price of a new car rose to a record $35,420 in August due to tight inventories and shoppers gravitating to higher value vehicles. 
• Hotel bookings are down 65% for the upcoming Labor Day week compared with 2019, with only 14% of rooms booked for Labor Day itself. 
• American Airlines cut 83,000 flights from its October domestic schedule, a 55% decrease from the prior year. 
• Bricks and mortar retailing is suffering a crushing blow from the pandemic…

while online retailing has soared:

• Campbell Soup sees sales of packaged foods easing as some consumers return to restaurants and others encounter budget constraints. 
• A third of Big Ten athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 suffer from myocarditis, a heart complication that can mimic the symptoms of a heart attack and lead to death. 

International

• A Pew Research study finds increasing economic pessimism across the globe as the pandemic continues to spread, with two-thirds of adults surveyed saying conditions are bad. 
• The pandemic is ravaging the economies of the world’s largest developing nations, causing contractions rivaling the Great Depression. 
• Front-line healthcare workers have been hard hit by COVID-19:

• As many as a quarter of Latin American university students are expected to drop out due to financial challenges, shattering the dreams of many who were the first in their families to attend college. 
• Total infections in Brazil topped 4 million yesterday, a doubling in just two months.
• India recorded more than 83,000 new cases, bringing total infections in the country to nearly 4 million as it closes on Brazil for the second highest case count globally.
• New infections in Indonesia, the current epicenter for COVID-19, exceeded 3,600 yesterday, a record high, two weeks after many Indonesians traveled for their independence day holiday. 
• Mexico auto exports were down 13.1% year over year in August and down a third through the first eight months of 2019. 
• Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

Our Operations

• We will be closed next Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
• To access 3D Printing training, order parts and seek technical assistance, visit our new online resource.
• Resource Center: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers. To arrange a videoconference or meeting, contact:
  • Automotive: Market Manager Matt Zessin.
  • Color & Compounding: Market Manager Scott Arnold.
  • Electrical & Electronics: Market Manager Carlos Aponte.
  • Flexible Packaging: Senior Technical Development Engineer Todd Stevens.
  • Healthcare: Global Healthcare Manager Josh Blackmore.
  • Rotational Molding: Product Manager Pete Nutley.
  • Wire & Cable: Director Todd Waddle.
  • 3D Printing: Market Manager Haleyanne Freedman.
  • Sustainability: Market Manager Lindy Holland.
  • For Regulatory advice, contact Regulatory Specialist Christopher Thelen.
  • For Technical questions, contact Paul Lorigan, Manager of the M. Holland Technical Innovation Center.
• M. Holland’s official status statement is available here.

Thank you,

M. Holland Company

We will provide further COVID-19 bulletins as circumstances dictate. For all COVID-19 updates and notices, please refer to the M. Holland website.