Plastics Newsletter - June
Market Updates
• Record high ocean freight spot rates ex-Asia have seen a further major hike this week, including rises of nearly 40% this week to the US, as a month of port restrictions and congestion at Yantian and other south China ports worsen container shipping’s already severe global capacity and equipment shortages.
• Logistics across the US continue to be challenged by lack of drivers, lack of trucks for the loads, etc. Some bulk carriers are refusing long hauls with an empty back haul (think TX to Ohio for example or Chicago to California). They are refusing the loads.
• Ports continue to be very congested. Containers have been sitting in port and received, but due to the trucking issues, they are unable to get the material to warehouses.
• PE and PP demand continues to be very strong. PP consumer and industrial demand is outstripping supply and expected to remain very tight (especially generic) into Q4.
• Hurricane season has begun. The first US landfall was last week (Claudette) and fortunately avoided the critical petrochemical complexes. Some manufacturers have put out a “hurricane preparedness letter” in anticipation of another challenging season of weather-related dislocations.
