September 9, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

MH Daily Bulletin: September 9

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • M. Holland has announced expanded access to 3D printing filaments from Braskem, a global chemical company, providing clients with access to polyethylene (PE) and glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) filaments. Click here to read the full press release.
  • M. Holland will be attending the North American Detroit Auto Show on Sept. 14-15. This annual showcase for emerging automotive technologies will be held at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan. If you’re attending, please RSVP for M. Holland’s reception or contact Mike Gumbko, Strategic Account Manager, to set up a meeting with our Automotive team.
  • Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.

Supply

  • Oil rose 1% Thursday as traders bought into the recent dip in prices. 
  • Oil futures, on pace for their second consecutive week of declines, were higher in mid-morning trading today, with WTI up 2.9% at $85.98/bbl and Brent up 2.8% at $91.67/bbl. U.S. natural gas was up 0.5% at $7.96/MMBtu.
  • U.S. crude stockpiles surged by almost 9 million barrels last week on a new release from strategic reserves, according to the EIA.
United States Crude Oil Stocks Change

Supply Chain

  • California’s power grid is under its fifth day of a heat-induced emergency as households and businesses are urged to reduce consumption to avoid blackouts. Punishing heat is also raising the risk of wildfires, leading at least one utility to warn of planned outages through the weekend.
  • Oregon could shut off power to tens of thousands of people this weekend due the extreme wildfire danger from excessive heat.
  • Hurricane Kay weakened into a tropical storm on Mexico’s Pacific coast Thursday but could still cause heavy rains and flooding along the Baja California peninsula and northwestern Mexico through Saturday. 
  • Europe this year saw its hottest summer since data going back to 1991, breaking temperature records across the continent and causing wildfires to surge in France and Spain.
  • With a Sept. 16 contract deadline looming, new research suggests a U.S. railroad strike could cost the national economy over $2 billion per day in output while threatening supplies of food and fuel.
  • HSBC forecasts an 80% slide in container line earnings over the next two years on rising capacity and declining demand.
  • Container shipping rates from Hong Kong to Los Angeles fell another 18.1% last week to around $4,000 per 40-foot container, approaching the break-even point for large carriers.
  • The ISM’s index for supplier deliveries hit 55.1 in August, a positive signal indicating that delivery times expanded at their slowest rate of the pandemic.
  • The Baltic Dry Index, a widely tracked gauge of dry-bulk shipping rates, is poised to fall between 20%-30% this year as goods trading sinks on lower demand. 
  • The global freight brokerage market will nearly double within a decade to $91 billion in revenue, according to a new report from Allied Market Research. 
  • Germany’s government has agreed to sell the Schenker logistics business of rail operator Deutsche Bahn in a rumored $20 billion deal
  • In the latest news from the auto industry:
Most Important Factors When Buying a Car

Domestic Markets

United States Initial Jobless Claims
  • The U.S. Treasury Secretary said falling gasoline prices may put further downward pressure on August’s inflation numbers due to be released next Tuesday. 
  • U.S. banks reported $64.4 billion in profits in the second quarter, about 8.5% below a year ago.
  • The average U.S. mortgage rate rose for the third week in a row this week, approaching 6%, the highest level since 2008.
  • San Francisco home prices tumbled 7% last month as soaring interest rates and an exodus of tech workers battered demand in one of the most expensive U.S. housing markets.
  • United Airlines invested $15 million in electric-air-taxi maker Eve Air Mobility, its second investment in an air taxi producer in as many months.
  • Uber Eats is expanding its use of autonomous, driverless delivery vehicles in Houston, Texas, and Mountain View, California, this year.
  • Macy’s expects another early start to the holiday shopping season this year even though supply-chain issues show signs of easing and store shelves are adequately stocked, executives said. 
  • Faring better than rivals during the pandemic, T-Mobile announced a $14 billion share buyback program that will run to next September.

International Markets

China Inflation Rate

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