The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), was flat in March, following stronger gains in January and February, according to the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report.…
U.S. specialty chemical market volumes fell 0.6% in February after a 1.0 decline in January, continuing the soft start to 2015, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). “The…
The preliminary value for the January 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) edged downward from the previous month’s value for the fourth consecutive month. The first calculated value for 2015 sits only 0.11% higher than the year-earlier…
Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s latest composite leading indicator (CLI) indicate stable growth momentum for the most of the world’s major economies, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry…
The S&P index for chemical companies is up 5.6% from the beginning of 2015, while the wider S&P 500 Index is up only 2.2%, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington,…
Specialty chemical maker Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) today announced the completion of the sale of its Business Line Energy Storage to Johnson Matthey Plc, which was announced on October 29th,2014. The sale was closed on February 28th 2015. “The divestment…
Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany; materialscience.bayer.com) has concluded the takeover of Thermoplast Composite GmbH (TCG; Langenfeld, Germany; thermoplast-composite.com), a technology leader specializing in the production of thermoplastic fiber composites. Bayer MaterialScience will use the acquisition to expand its range of products…
The preliminary value for the December 2014 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) inched downward compared to the final value for November, continuing a three-month trend. The index value sits at 1.45% above its level from December 2013.…
First to File: Patents for Today’s Scientist and Engineer. By M. Henry Heines. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J., Web: wiley.com. 2014. 224 pages. $89.95. Modern Thermodynamics: From Heat Engines to Dissipative Structures. 2nd ed. By Dilip Kondepudi and Ilya…
Propylene is a major component of the global olefins market and is widely used as an intermediate for an array of chemical and plastic products. Propylene is produced as a byproduct in steam crackers and through fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)…