Specialities push through logistics disruption as agchems rebound
The speciality chemicals and agrochemicals markets in the US are both enduring turbulent times . Gregory D . L . Morris reports from Charleston
As the North American speciality and agricultural chemicals sectors approached then end of 2021 , they continue to be plagued by supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions , according to Dr Kevin Swift , former chief economist and managing director for the American Chemistry Council and now a consulting economist in private practice . Swift gave the keynote address at the Specialty & Agro Chemicals America conference in Charleston , South Carolina in September . Q4 2021 started on a solid note with overall speciality chemical market volumes up 8.1 % on a year-on-year basis ,” Swift said in a later inverview . “ Gains across segments were fairly widespread . Equity markets and policy makers have been spooked by the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus . We have yet to see how this will play out .”
The economic fundamentals are fairly good , in Swift ’ s view . “ Ongoing supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions seem to be alleviating , but remain a concern for the economy . Industrial production gained 1.6 % in October and capacity utilisation improved . “ Oil and gas extraction , oil refining and chemicals continued to recover from Hurricane Ida along the East Coast in June . Semiconductor production remains a bright spot in manufacturing . Labour challenges continue to plague the industrial sector and a major factor holding back growth .” Light vehicles , a key end-use sector affected by semiconductor shortages , featured improving assemblies , to an 8.83 million-unit pace during October , the first gain since May . Cars and light trucks overall seem likely to bounce back to 16 or 17 million units .
In the housing market , labour and building materials shortages remain . Combined with higher prices which erode affordability , that meant that housing starts eased to a 1.52-millionunit pace during October . There is , on average , $ 12,000 worth of chemicals in the construction of each house in the US . “ That said , this is still a good level ,” said Swift , “ and the more forwardlooking building permits jumped to a 1.65 million unit pace as builder confidence remains high . On a positive note , retail sales grew for the third month , with gains in nearly all segments . Labour markets continue to mend , but inflation has emerged as a concern for consumer and business alike .” Referring specifically to speciality chemicals , headline market volumes were higher by 8.1 % year-on-year in October , the latest month for which data are available . “ Gains of
Corn now accounts for more than half of US agricultural production by land area
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