May 3, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

MH Daily Bulletin: May 3

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • M. Holland is excited to be the Headline Sponsor for the upcoming Injection Molding & Design Expo in Detroit! This two-day trade show will highlight the latest technologies, materials, equipment and opportunities in injection molding. The event is May 25-26 and admission is free. Click here to learn more.
  • How can healthcare organizations improve the environmental impact of their healthcare packaging, increase the recyclability of products and reduce overall waste? Read the insight from our experts here.
  • M. Holland’s 3D Printing group offers a rapid response alternative for producing selected parts where resin availability is tight. For more information, email our 3D Printing team.
  • Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.

Supply

  • Oil prices rose half a percent Monday on signs of higher demand for refined products. Diesel futures continued to rally, gaining 5% on low global supplies. 
  • In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.5% at $104.70/bbl, Brent was down 0.4% at $107.20/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 8.4% at $8.11/MMBtu. 
  • U.S. shale producers Devon, Diamondback and Coterra reported three- and fourfold increases in first-quarter profit Monday but said they would hold output mostly steady to focus on shareholder returns.
  • Swelling orders for new LNG-carrying vessels are on pace to crush last year’s $16 billion orderbook as global demand for the fuel grows and more U.S. export projects come online:
Calcasieu Pass, the seventh U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminal, begins production
  • Chinese oil demand is down over 1 million bpd from the same time last year, analysts say. 
  • OPEC likely remained more than 250,000 bpd short of its planned output hike for April, the fourth shortfall in five months. The group meets Thursday and is expected to keep a gradual output increase for June. 
  • Pemex reported over $6 billion in first-quarter profit, the highest in 18 years as output stabilized with more onshore and shallow-water drilling. 
  • India’s power demand is up 13% from March as century-high temperatures rock the nation’s electricity grid. 
  • More oil news related to the war in Europe:
    • The EU may spare Hungary and Slovakia from a Russian oil embargo as it prepares to finalize its next batch of sanctions today. 
    • German officials announced support for a potential immediate ban on Russian oil, gaining promised aid from Poland
    • Reports suggest Europe will look to African LNG shipments to help reduce dependence on Russian natural gas by up to two-thirds this year. 
    • Finland dropped its contract for a proposed nuclear power plant to be built by a Russian energy company. 
    • Mitsui & Co., one of Japan’s biggest traders, will stay involved with a massive LNG project in Russia’s Far East it says is vital for Japanese energy supply. The firm tripled its full-year profit to $7 billion on the recent rise in energy prices. 
    • BP took a $25.5 billion accounting charge related to its decision to exit Russian holdings, the biggest hit so far among firms pulling out of the nation. 
  • Supported by a tax on energy firms, Italy unveiled over $14 billion in new fiscal support to help households and businesses manage rising costs, particularly for energy. 
  • The British government is calling on North Sea producers to reinvest massive earnings into building more energy projects. 
  • Sri Lanka secured hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase fuel from India on credit, a much-needed relief amid the island’s worst financial crisis in decades.
  • A global funding package is in the works to help low-income nations reduce dirty coal consumption after demand for the fuel surged during the pandemic. 
  • Construction began on the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the British North Sea, which could power up to 6 million homes by 2026.
  • 3D printing is gaining traction in the oil and gas industry as a means of reducing cost, speeding part manufacturing and decreasing the overall carbon footprint.  

Supply Chain

  • New Mexico’s Calf Canyon wildfire, the U.S.’s largest blaze currently, spread to 120,000 acres Monday as 13,000 people prepared to evacuate in the state’s central-northern region. The fire is expected to spread further due to high winds, officials said. 
  • The U.S. Purchasing Manager’s Index fell to 69.7 in April, a 16-month low, primarily on a drop in transportation capacity:
United States ISM Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

Domestic Markets

United States Construction Spending
  • Almost 90% of consumer-goods companies reporting quarterly earnings have logged profits above analyst estimates. 
  • Mortgage borrowers paid 31% more in fees used to lower contractual interest rates last month, one of several methods homebuyers are using to combat decade-high rates. 
  • California shelved plans to create a four-day workweek for hourly employees after the bill received little support from lawmakers. 
  • Spirit Airlines rejected a $3.6 billion cash takeover bid from JetBlue and will continue plans to acquire low-cost rival Frontier. 
  • Penske will buy back more shares after first-quarter profit more than doubled to $367.9 million, as industrywide vehicle shortages bolstered prices. 
  • Northrop Grumman reported a 9.6% decline in quarterly revenue for its aeronautics unit, citing labor and supply shortages. 
  • A Seattle-based startup is gaining traction with its pickup service for hard-to-recycle items, including batteries, #1 PET plastics and lightbulbs. 

International Markets

China's Covid Lockdowns Hit Industrial Production
  • Stellantis is putting $2.8 million into reconfiguring two Ontario plants to make new-model electric vehicles. 
  • Used car prices in Germany jumped 17% in April as supply shortages hampered production of new vehicles at Mercedes and Volkswagen. 

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