The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), expanded 1.0 percent in May, following a revised 0.8 percent increase in April and 0.1 percent increase in March. All data…
On May 19, 2016 SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) inaugurated a new research facility at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, the Netherlands. The official opening was done by the Governor of the Limburg Province Theo Bovens and Peter Borman,…
The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) entered the second quarter of 2016 on a soft note, slipping 0.3 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis in April.…
The March 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) stayed even with the value from the previous month, with the Construction Labor, Buildings and Engineering & Supervision subindices all rising, while the Equipment…
Wholesale trade in chemicals expanded 0.7% to $10.02 billion in March, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). “At the same time, inventories fell back 2.4% in March and,…
PPG (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) today opened a $3 million state-of-the-art liquid coatings application development center at its Oak Creek, Wisconsin, plant. The new center includes advanced equipment that helps simulate industrial coatings customers’ manufacturing environments to ensure PPG coatings will…
U.S. production of major plastic resins reached 7.0 billion pounds during March, a total that is 5.0% higher than the same month last year, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington,…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com), a leading global industrial gas company, announced an investment in excess of $100 million in its Geismar, Louisiana, facility to expand its carbon monoxide production and support growing customer demand in the Mississippi River corridor.…
Plant Watch TCV begins construction of new liquid polybutadiene plant in France April 15, 2016 — Total Cray Valley (TCV; Paris, France; www.crayvalley.com) has begun construction of a new plant for liquid polybutadiene in Carling, north-east France. The plant will…
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that the first quarter ended on a soft note, with the headline index essentially flat on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis during…