The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), notched a gain of 0.3% in October, following an upwardly revised gain of 0.4% in September, according to the organization.
The CAB is up 4.2% Y/Y, a marked increase over earlier comparisons and the greatest year-over-year gain since August 2014, ACC says. All data are measured on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. In October, three of the four core categories for the CAB improved. Production-related indicators, product prices, and inventory were positive, while equity prices remained flat.
Meanwhile, the ACC also reported that the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) expanded by 0.2% in September, following a 0.3% decline in August, and flat growth in July. In September, chemical production rose across all regions, with the largest gains in the Ohio Valley, Gulf Coast, and Midwest regions, ACC says. There were gains in the production three-month moving average output trend of adhesives, fertilizers, pesticides, coatings, organic chemicals, synthetic rubber, plastic resins, pharmaceuticals and other specialty chemicals. These gains were offset by declines in the output trend in inorganic chemicals, consumer products, industrial gases, dyes and pigments, and manufactured fibers, the ACC adds.