COVID-19 Bulletin: June 24

Good Afternoon,

More COVID-19 news relevant to the plastics industry:

Supply

• Oil prices fell yesterday after the American Petroleum Institute reported higher-than-expected inventory levels.
• Oil prices slid further in early trading this morning, with the WTI falling below $40 to $39.55/bbl and Brent down 1.8% to $41.86/bbl.
• An infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine warned that Houston is on pace to become the worst infected city in the country.
• Value-added margins for refiners have dropped by more than a third due to reduced demand and operating rates, posing an obstacle to oil’s recovery.
• U.S. Liquid Natural Gas exports are down 50% due to low natural gas prices globally.

Supply Chain

• Japan’s largest shipping company is cutting its fleet by 5% and expects that global shipping will not return to 2019 levels until 2022.
• Supply chain optimization in the COVID-19 era requires horizontal connections among silos in addition to digital intelligence.
• Our Gold Standard logistics and transportation partners continue to operate without disruption.
• Ports are operating normally:

Markets

• The International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for the global economy, with a projected contraction this year of 4.9%, versus its 3.0% projection in April. The recovery next year also will be weaker than earlier forecast.
• Health experts and political leaders are alarmed by a surge in COVID-19 infections:
  • Cases in the U.S. reversed a six-week downtrend, hitting their highest level in two months and nearly matching the nation’s peak infection rates in April and May.
  • Governors of Texas and California, the two most populous states, will impose restrictions after registering record new cases yesterday.
  • With cases rising in more than half of states, a growing number of state and local governments are slowing their reopenings.
  • Sixteen states with relaxed face mask rules have experienced an 84% increase in cases in the past two weeks.
  • Businesses in states experiencing infection spikes are seeing a return of caution among consumers. 
• The Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing activity rose in June to 49.6 from 39.8 in May, signaling an improving economy that is still in contraction.
• New home sales jumped a surprisingly strong 16.6% in May versus April and were up 12.7% compared with May 2019.
• Nevada joined Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington in adopting California’s vehicle emission standards.
• Virginia is imposing safety protocols for businesses, the first state to mandate safety rules.
• The Treasury Department is considering a further extension of the deadline for filing income taxes, which was moved from April 15 to July 15 early in the pandemic.
• Staying open during the COVID-19 shutdowns proved expensive for major corporations as they invested in new safety equipment and protocols, paid wage premiums and saw less customer traffic.
• Strong demand for plexiglass for sneeze guards is creating shortages globally.
• Global COVID-19 infections are accelerating and approached 9.3 million yesterday. 

International

• The European Union is considering banning U.S. travelers from entering the region; bans currently are in place for visitors from Brazil and Russia due to their high infection rates.
• Latin America, which accounts for 8% of the global population, now accounts for about one-fourth of global infections and suffered nearly half of COVID-19 deaths over the past two weeks, bringing the death toll north of 100,000.
• At least six people died in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Mexico yesterday.

Our Operations

• For clients seeking the convenience of accessing order status, order history, invoices, bills of lading and other information online, contact Tara Cutaia, Director of Client Experience, to sign up for our proprietary MHX app.
• 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.
  • 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.