COVID-19 Bulletin: July 16
Good Afternoon,
More COVID-19 news relevant to the plastics industry:
Supply
- Crude prices were modestly lower in early trading with the WTI price at $40.83/bbl and Brent at $43.54/bbl.
- As expected, the coalition of oil producing nations led by OPEC agreed yesterday to ease production quotas. A committee will meet next week to plan the increases.
- California Resources, California’s largest oil producer, succumbed to its high debt and low oil prices by filing for bankruptcy yesterday.
- A federal appeals court ruled that the Dakota Access pipeline connecting oil fields in South Dakota with Chicago can continue operating while it considers a lower court ruling that the pipeline must be shut down due to flaws in the environmental permitting process.
- Opponents sued to block Formosa’s planned $9.4 billion petrochemicals project at St. James Parish, Louisiana, over potential environmental damage.
Supply Chain
- Operation Safe Driver Week runs through Saturday when law enforcement across the country steps up enforcement for speeding. We are monitoring commercial trucking activity to help assure on-time delivery.
- With revenues for Uber Freight, Uber’s freight brokerage business, up 57% in the first quarter, the company is in talks with investors for $500 million in new funding.
- Our Gold Standard logistics partners and U.S. ports continue to return to normal operations.
Markets
- Jobless claims declined slightly last week to a higher-than-expected 1.3 million people as the spreading virus forced more state restrictions. More than 51 million jobless claims have been filed in the four months since the pandemic struck.
- New COVID-19 infections topped 67,000 for the second straight day, the second highest tally on record.
- Arizona, California, Florida and Texas accounted for 36,000 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, more than half of the nation’s total. Texas reported record new cases, and Alabama reported a record for daily fatalities.
- Florida, Texas, California and Georgia have the fastest growing case counts:
![Where Coronavirus Is Spreading Fastest](https://www.mholland.com/media/Where-Coronavirus-is-Spreading-Fastest-1.jpg)
- Arizona, which now has the highest per-capita infection rate in the country, is running out of ICU beds, with eight-hour wait times for testing.
- Alabama and Montana issued statewide orders mandating face masks in public indoor spaces, while Georgia’s governor issued an order barring localities in the state from mandating masks.
- U.S. industrial production rose a better-than-expected 5.4% in June, the second consecutive monthly increase. Industrial production remained nearly 11% below pre-pandemic levels.
- The mortality rate for COVID-19 patients in intensive care has fallen from 60% in March to 42% as methods for care improve.
- Mortgage delinquencies soared in April with 6.1% of mortgages past due, versus 3.6% past due in April 2019. The past-due calculation does not include the 8% of mortgages that are in forbearance.
- American Airlines notified 25,000 employees that their jobs may disappear when the government’s payroll assistance program ends in October. Pre-pandemic, the company employed about 130,000.
- Commercial aircraft deliveries have plunged during the pandemic:
![Aircraft Deliveries in Steep Descent Amid COVID-19 Crisis](https://www.mholland.com/media/Aircraft-Deliveries-in-Steep-Descent.jpg)
- Boeing’s order book shrank by 183 aircraft in June, when it delivered only 10 aircraft.
- Amazon is extending its work-from-home option for office workers until January 8, 2021.
- Nissan plans to produce about 30% fewer vehicles for the remainder of the year compared with the prior-year level.
- Stellantis has been selected as the name for the automaker that emerges when Italy’s Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot complete their planned merger early next year.
- Full-service restaurants raised menu prices 0.9% in June, and many are charging COVID-19 surcharges as they deal with rising food costs and operating costs.
- The Federal Reserve has formed a task force to address the shortage of coins in circulation because of the recession, prompting many retailers to mandate credit- and debit-card transactions only. Kroger will no longer make change nationwide.
- Total COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S. approached 138,000 yesterday.
International
- China returned to growth in the second quarter with GDP up 3.2%, fueled by a rise in government-encouraged industrial output as retail sales continued to fall. Continued momentum will hinge in part on exports, where the spreading virus elsewhere is clouding the outlook.
- The Bank of Japan lowered its 2020 growth forecast to a negative 4.7% and expects prices to fall 0.5%.
- France will mandate face masks in all public indoor spaces starting next week to tame a recent outbreak.
- With its public debt now above 120% of GDP, France plans to separate pandemic-related debt and repay it over 20 years.
- Japan’s government suspended a planned campaign to attract tourists after Tokyo reported record infections yesterday as a flare-up that began in the nightclub district expands through community spread.the world’s largest economy and will further distance itself this year as it grows and the U.S. contracts:
Our Operations
- To access 3D printing training, order parts and seek technical assistance, visit our new online resource.
- Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets. To arrange a videoconference or meeting with any of our Market Managers, please visit our website.
- 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.