-
Categories
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
-
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
-
Food Additives
- Industrial Coatings
- Agrochemicals
- Dyes and Pigments
- Surfactant
- Flavors and Fragrances
- Chemical Reagents
- Catalyst and Auxiliary
- Natural Products
- Inorganic Chemistry
-
Organic Chemistry
-
Biochemical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Cosmetic Ingredient
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
Promotion
ECHEMI Mall
Wholesale
Weekly Price
Exhibition
News
-
Trade Service
The decline in vehicle sales has hit the related chemicals market
Vehicle sales are declining in all major regions of the world, creating a demand ripple effect
for many chemicals in the automotive value chain.
ICIS said the weak automotive industry has dampened demand
in chemical markets including European butylene glycol, American polyols, European epoxy resins, European carbonyl alcohols, European acrylics, Chinese acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, European polymethyl methacrylate and European plasticizers.
The bright spot for future chemical demand is the provision of materials for electric vehicles, such as lightweight polymers/composites and battery components
.
The automotive industry is investing heavily in electric vehicles
.
For example, Volvo recently signed a multibillion-dollar deal with two Asian companies that will supply batteries
to Volvo.
Volvo wants to sell half of
its total car sales by 2025.
ACC opposes high U.
S.
tariffs on China
Effective May 10, the United States raised tariffs on $200 billion of goods exported to China from 10 percent to 25 percent
.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) said the escalation of the U.
S.
-China trade friction posed a clear threat to the U.
S.
chemical industry and that the risk of raising tariffs was "too high.
"
ACC Chairman Cal Dooley noted, "China exports to the United States several chemicals unique to China that are the main raw materials
for U.
S.
manufacturing.
China is also the third-largest export market
for U.
S.
chemical manufacturers.
The tariff war between the two countries has disrupted supply chains, cut off markets and eroded the competitiveness
of U.
S.
chemical manufacturing.
"ACC and its members strongly urge President Trump to reach a sensible solution with China and forgo higher tariffs
.
"
The Japanese refining industry embarked on business consolidation
Japan's refining industry is accelerating the implementation of new strategies
due to increasing government pressure and increased competition due to the start of some of the largest refineries in the Asia-Pacific region.
These strategies are expected to include the adoption of new production standards in the refining industry and the transfer of some refining capacity abroad
.
Continued growth in production costs and a gradual decline in domestic demand for petroleum products have created the conditions for consolidation in Japan's refining industry, prompting some domestic refiners to consider merging with other refiners to save costs and improve efficiency
.
On April 1 this year, Japan's second-largest refiner Idemitsu Kosan and fourth-largest refiner Showa Shell officially merged, and the combined company will occupy about 30% of the domestic gasoline sales market
.
Middle Eastern automotive or switch to high-quality lubricants
A lubricant additive supplier forecasts that more than 26 million new light vehicles will be added to the Middle East between now and 2023, which will accelerate the region's shift to higher-quality lubricants
.
High disposable income in the Middle East Gulf region indicates that many of the region's new vehicles will be equipped with the latest technologies, such as direct injection gasoline engines, turbochargers and particulate filters, which will stimulate the demand for
high-quality lubricants.
"Global automotive engine oils are shifting from CH-4 to CI-4, CI-4+ and then soon CK-4, and more complex hardware will affect engine oils and thus the quality of
the lubricants used," said Kailash Savant, Lubrizol Corporate Business Manager.
"
