Iran is readying the ground for resumption of petrochemicals exports as the nuclear deal it’s struck with six world powers, including the US, calls for lifting the sanctions that have throttled the country’s sales abroad and shrunk its economy by 20%. As Platts...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist When I began writing this column in 2013, I focused on China as a source of better-priced chemicals. I took note then of a 2011 Deloitte forecast that China was on the verge of surpassing the US in total chemicals sales. Time to...
Market watchers trying to factor in Iran’s potential return to global markets in oil, gas and petrochemicals have no choice but to spin many an alternative scenario. Limited sanction relief provided by November 2013’s Geneva Interim Agreement has resulted in limited...
The trade data shows US polyethylene net exports decreased 20% in October and 7% in November 2014 compared to the same months in 2013 – continuing a downward trend that has persisted since 2009 and through last year’s first three quarters: The US is still a net...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist In September’s column, we compared first-quarter with second-quarter best and average prices for the basket of 10 chemical commodities that make up the Datamyne US Best Price Benchmark (posted to the Datamyne homepage). This...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist The Chemcost search for the new cheap in US chemicals continues … even as chemical price storm clouds appear to be gathering. We’ve compared first-quarter with second-quarter best and average prices for the 10 chemical...
The Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA) has reached a preliminary determination that 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane from China is being sold at below fair value in the US and calculated countervailing duties. Mexichem Fluor, which markets the...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist Chemcost’s approach to global price discovery is based on the theory that volumes shipped point the way to competitive pricing. Call it a volume-centric approach. And we typically find in using this approach that global shipment...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist This is not another April Fool’s story. Finding what we at Chemcost Interactive* call “The New Cheap” – the markets that offer the lowest prices for chemicals commodities – takes digging into the data on global buying and selling...
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist In past columns, Chemcost has explored where in the world US chemicals purchasers can find the “New Cheap.” This month, we focus on who can deliver lower prices, with a demonstration of how Datamyne’s US bill of lading import...
