With 2026 heading into its final stretch, Europe’s petrochemical shake-up is showing no signs of running its course. Close to 11 million tons/year of nameplate capacity across olefins, polyolefins and the vinyls chain has been closed, idled or earmarked for closure since 2024, while well above 10 million tons/year of capacity has been involved in completed or agreed ownership changes...
A month after global supply chains were caught in a patchwork of geopolitical, weather-related and infrastructure disruptions, the picture has shifted, but far from uniformly. The tentative normalization emerging across the Red Sea and Suez Canal in August has gathered momentum, with more container services returning to the shorter route and Asia-Europe freight rates falling sharply...
Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical industry is facing mounting operational and logistical challenges. The recent East-West Pipeline shutdown has raised feedstock concerns for west-coast facilities, while disruptions at Bab el-Mandeb are complicating feedstock flows to Asia. Although polymer exports continue, port congestion, inland rerouting and longer delivery schedules are reducing the efficiency and predictability of Saudi supply...
As of the week ending September 11, Vietnam’s domestic PP and PE markets continued to move upward, extending a broad uptrend that began in mid-July, despite some softness in homo-PP and LDPE film prices in the first half of August. Firmer import replacement costs and rising energy prices continued to provide sellers with room to pursue higher prices. However, downstream demand remained fragile, with buyers limiting purchases to immediate needs and resisting elevated offers...
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