BANGKOK (ICIS)--Over the past week, Asia ethylene players arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, to reflect on the industry's drift towards oversupply, and probe opportunities for continued survival as supply-demand balance changes enter the horizon. Feedstock cost competitiveness, ethane conversion considerations still on the table Consolidation a complex question, but looking more necessary for survival SE Asia's new supply may cause supply-demand balance changes for Indonesia In this chemical podcast,...
May 16, 2025•8 min•Ep. 1344
LONDON (ICIS)-- European acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile (ACN) markets are facing ongoing demand weakness in 2025, as well as uncertainty for global supply dynamics and the potential impact expected from US tariffs. In this latest podcast, Europe ABS market editor Stephanie Wix and markets editor for the Europe ACN report, Nazif Nazmul, share the latest developments and expectations ahead. Demand stability at a weak level expected to continue across 2025 Macroeconomic cha...
May 16, 2025•13 min•Ep. 1343
The agreement to pause steep tariffs between the US and China for 90 days allows normal business to resume, but chemicals CEOs still need to plan for structural changes to global trade. - US-China tariff pause allows trade to resume between nations - Will benefit chemical companies around the world - But business leaders still need to plan for a more protectionist world - Trade resumption could see huge spike in demand, snarling up logistics - SABIC reportedly appoints banks to prepare for sale ...
May 16, 2025•21 min•Ep. 1342
BANGKOK (ICIS) -- Northeast Asia ethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) markets have seen a slower-than-expected tempo of spot talks for June cargoes, with the main driver of uncertainty being unclear start up timelines from new ethylene derivative expansions, particularly from Chinese PVC. Around 1.5million tonnes/year new PVC supply may face start-up postponements Import discussions on ethylene slow pending clearer demand picture PVC demand clouded by India-Pakistan tensions amid pre-monsoon se...
May 16, 2025•3 min•Ep. 1341
China’s tariff on US LPG has been cut from 125% to 10% for 90 days. Shihao, Yan, and Lilian from the ICIS China LPG team discuss what this means for US cargo flows, CFR China price trends, and China PDH operation outlook, and why market players remain cautious despite the relief. China lowers tariffs on US LPG for 90 days What this means for trade flows and pricing PDH run rates show signs of recovery Market reaction remains cautious Related article: Our April analysis on the tariff hike...
May 16, 2025•8 min•Ep. 1340
Raphael Jaumotte , Technical Manager at PETCORE EUROPE speaks to Matt Tudball , ICIS Senior Editor, Recycling about the PETCORE EUROPE Thermoforming Conference on 27-28 May in Dijion, France. Details of the event can be found via Petcore's webiste. The theme of PETCORE EUROPE's 3rd dedicated thermoforming conference is focused on PET thermoform circularity, and asks the question ‘how can collection and sorting of PET thermoforms be improved?’ Topics discussed include: PETCORE EUROPE's work in co...
May 09, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1339
As demand for transport falters, and with the Middle East fighting for market share, crude oil prices may continue their downward spiral, eventually boosting chemicals demand. - Low oil prices put money into consumers’ pockets - Petrochemicals demand will eventually benefit from lower oil prices - Destocking down value chains initially masks demand boost - But trade war will likely dampen global economy, chemicals demand - China’s move to electric vehicles will reduce crude oil demand - Oversupp...
May 06, 2025•33 min•Ep. 1338
Demand in the EU and US epoxy markets remains muted and the sentiment has become even more cautious, as players navigate the changing and complex tariff landscape. In this podcast, senior editor Heidi Finch , who covers the Europe epoxy market and fellow senior editor Tarun Raizada , who covers the US epoxy market, share insights on key topics including tariffs, effects on sentiment, demand and profitability struggles. Europe epoxy sentiment diluted in April; as Trump tariffs add to demand cauti...
May 02, 2025•12 min•Ep. 1337
From Trump's tough tariffs talk to pivotal recycling legislation, ICIS senior analysts and editors pick their top themes from the 11th ICIS World Polyolefins Conference in Cologne. Joining senior editor manager Vicky Ellis on the podcast are senior editor Ben Lake, senior analyst for PE Lorenzo Meazza, ICIS consultant Les Bottomley, senior recycling analyst Egor Dementev and senior analyst Alex Tomczyk. They discuss highlights from the conference, including examples of tariffs from US' history, ...
Apr 30, 2025•24 min•Ep. 1336
The impending trade war is already hurting consumer and business sentiment and may help cause a global recession as demand collapses amid rampant chemicals overcapacity. - US retailers fear empty shelves, fuelling inflation - Uncertainty, chaos is hurting business, dampening consumer sentiment - China chemicals demand growth could be negative in 2025 - China may exempt $46 billion of US goods from tariffs including ethane, polyethylene (PE), styrene polymers - Huge drop in May bookings for China...
Apr 29, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1335
European oxo-alcohols and derivatives markets have been largely characterised by uncertainty and cautious market behaviour. Offtake from the coatings sector typically increases in spring, though sentiment is subdued as players struggle to plan amid ongoing global tariff uncertainty and ongoing wider economic weakness. Oxo-alcohols and butyl acetate reporter Marion Boakye speaks to acrylate esters editor Mathew Jolin-Beech and glycol ethers editor Cameron Birch about conditions down the oxo-alcoh...
Apr 29, 2025•11 min•Ep. 1334
LONDON (ICIS)--European Melamine Editor Melissa Hurley interviews Senior Editor Sylvia Traganida, Deputy Managing Editor Deepika Thapliyal, Market Reporter Joy Foo and Connor Phillips. Market factors to consider ahead of May: Asia Melamine market grappling with weak demand and increasing supply Asia exports dropped in March but expected to flow into Europe May/June Reduced melamine supply in Europe offset by ongoing sluggish demand conditions No tariff impact on US melamine so far Global urea de...
Apr 28, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1333
In this podcast, ICIS analyst Jasmine Khoo and Mason Liang talk about the current situation and outlook for the methyl methacrylate (MMA) market.
Apr 28, 2025•5 min•Ep. 1332
Asia propylene (C3) market is likely to see tighter short-term supply as China propane dehydrogenation (PDH) producers are now faced with surging propane import costs due to the US-China tariff hikes. While downstream demand and end-user consumption could be negatively impacted on tariff barriers. In this chemical podcast, ICIS senior analyst Joey Zhou and analyst Seymour Chenxia discuss what changes Asian C3 market is going to embrace in the US tariff upheaval. And the topics will be focusing o...
Apr 23, 2025•16 min•Ep. 1331
Chemical companies need a razor-sharp focus on identifying and nurturing markets and customers as the trade war pulls apart decades of established ways of doing business. - Cheap material being offered to Europe from Asian countries outside China - We are witnessing the breakup of the post-World War 2 Western Alliance - CEOs now have 90-day window of opportunity for scenario planning - Uncertainty about tariffs makes it difficult to plan - Focus on locating markets and customers amid the chaos -...
Apr 16, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1330
On the eve of his retirement, ICIS Think Tank podcast stalwart Nigel Davis and colleagues pick out key chemical industry turning points and point to the future. - Energy transition will have massive impact on chemicals - Tariffs could drive era of deglobalization - Chemicals journalism helps bring clarity to markets - Editorial content and analytics explain what is happening and why - Get past the press release and uncover the truth - Trusted sources of information are more important in an age o...
Apr 09, 2025•26 min•Ep. 1329
SINGAPORE (ICIS)—With the implementation of import tariffs by the US, aromatics trade flow from Asia might see a shift, especially on the back of disparities in tariff rates on different countries. High volumes exported in Jan-Feb, slowdown from Mar onwards South Korea, possibly affected, as one of the major exports of aromatics to the US Global macroeconomic growth to witness a slowdown amid trade war In this chemical podcast, ICIS market specialist Samuel Wong discusses the potential impact of...
Apr 07, 2025•3 min•Ep. 1328
Join the ICIS content team to hear about some of the key discussions had at Plastics Recycling Show Europe on 1-2 April in Amsterdam. Topics include: Impact of high feedstocks on recyclers' margins Impact of legislation across recycled polymers markets Updates on chemical recycling Brands' positions on recycled content US tariffs - how will they impact Europe's recycled polymers markets? If you are interested in taking part in the Regulation Test and Learn mentioned by Alexandra during the podca...
Apr 04, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1327
Chemical companies all over the world will suffer if the new US tariffs trigger a full-blown trade war. - Tariffs will be bad news for the US and for the global economy - Europe polymers producers might get short-term relief if EU imposes tariffs on US polyethylene (PE) - US tariffs means China may now target other countries - Chemical industry will become more regional - If US becomes more isolated China could move closer to Europe, form new trading bloc - Europe’s chemical industry has its bac...
Apr 04, 2025•49 min•Ep. 1327
China’s domestic oxo-alcohols prices have recently rallied from low levels on expectations about supply reduction with the turnaround season approaching, but the sustainability and size of the price rise remains to be seen due to tepid demand recovery.
Apr 03, 2025•4 min•Ep. 1326
SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- India’s PVC demand is expected to strengthen in the short term, driven by agricultural sector demand and restocking, but ample supply and policy uncertainties may weigh on market sentiment. Weak demand, high inventories pressure prices to multi-year lows ADD final findings delayed; uncertainty around implementation persists Oversupply concerns rise with new capacities, trade barriers in focus In this chemical podcast, ICIS market specialist Aswin Kondapally discusses recent m...
Apr 02, 2025•9 min•Ep. 1325
Fresh from the European Coatings Show 2025 in Nuremberg, Germany, ICIS looks over the key talking points and challenges facing the key sectors. The main challenges are the ongoing sluggish demand, coupled with the wider geopolitical volatility and economic headwinds. Attending ECS '25 for ICIS and speaking on this podcast are: Mathew Jolin-Beech on acrylic acid (AA), acrylate esters, and methyl methacrylate (MMA) Jane Gibson on phenol, acetone, and refinery solvents Nick Cleeve on isopropanol (I...
Apr 01, 2025•11 min•Ep. 1324
The new European Commission talks the talk on rescuing chemicals but has not yet turned words into action as deindustrialisation gathers pace. - Change of tone from new Commission - New strategic dialogue with chemicals on competitiveness - Well intentioned, but not enough detail on action plan - Conflict between competitiveness and Green Deal objectives - Watering down or delaying existing legislation moves the goalposts, adds legal uncertainty - US has a patchwork of state-level and federal re...
Mar 28, 2025•40 min•Ep. 1323
European propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) will remain oversupplied following the closure of LyondellBasell and Covestro’s flagship complex in the Netherlands, but the erosion of local capacity is leaving markets increasingly fragile. In this podcast, ICIS Insight editor Tom Brown speaks to Nicole Simpson , ICIS markets editor for PO, and Fergus Jensen , senior editor for styrene, about the likely fallout from the planned shutdown. Europe PO market chronically oversupplied, operating...
Mar 27, 2025•13 min•Ep. 1322
In episode 2 of our new Sustainably Speaking podcast, ICIS' Senior Executive, Business Solutions Group John Richardson is joined by Mark Victory , Senior Editor for Recycling, Europe, and Helen McGeough , Global Analyst Team Lead for Plastic Recycling at ICIS to talk about the importance of investment in Europe's recycling industry. Topics covered in this episode include: Need for improvement in collection and sorting capacity Importance of high quality waste to allow chemical recycling scale up...
Mar 26, 2025•35 min•Ep. 1322
The Plastics Recycling Conference is underway in National Harbor, MD, and Senior Market Editor Emily Friedman and Senior Analyst Corbin Olson break down the key topics among discussions and presentations at the show: US recycling capacity for select polymers for food-contact applications remains under 10% Sustainability-driven grades continue to see 30-200%+ premiums on PCR Tariffs, legislative changes amid top factors influencing market outlooks...
Mar 24, 2025•7 min•Ep. 1321
The chemicals sector M&A market could see the start of a revival this year, with private equity firms and other strategic investors keen to put war chests of capital to work in a muted growth environment, but political and economic factors remain a concern. In this podcast, ICIS insight editor Tom Brown speaks to Federico Mennella , managing director for industrials at investment bank DC Advisory, about the economic outlook and shifting trends in global chemicals dealflow. Rebound still expe...
Mar 24, 2025•25 min•Ep. 1320
SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- Asia propylene (C3) editor Julia Tan speaks with Asia ethylene (C2) editor Josh Quah about the impact of recent tariff wars on downstream market sentiment, along with the markets' outlook for the second quarter. NE Asia C2 to see demand support from new PVC start-ups in China NE Asia C3 length to weigh on markets; import demand weak amid ample domestic supply New capacity start-ups in China to lengthen supply in olefins markets in Q2...
Mar 21, 2025•9 min•Ep. 1319
SINGAPORE (ICIS)-- Asia and Mideast isocyanates prices climbed rapidly immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday, followed by sharp corrections in mid to end-February. Ample supply has weighed on overall sentiment, and limited recovery in demand is expected for the rest of March. Asia MDI, TDI prices fall after Lunar New Year holiday Ample Asian supply to keep buyers in China, SE Asia cautious Post-Ramadan recovery in Middle East to be capped by sufficient availability In this podcast, ICIS m...
Mar 19, 2025•3 min•Ep. 1318
Moves by Germany and across Europe to boost defence spending could give a significant uplift to the region’s beleaguered chemical industry. - Need to maintain robust national or regional supply chains may benefit chemical industry in Europe, which is threatened with closures - German defence/infrastructure spending boost could be 2% of GDP, larger than increase linked to German reunification, post-war Marshall Plan - Rising defence spending in Europe would help boost electricity demand significa...
Mar 18, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1317
