Prudent planning and scheduling during a project’s front end can lead to more expedient commissioning and startup activities The cost of starting up large new facilities in the chemical process industries (CPI; Figure 1) is a significant element in a…
Developments from the 2015 AFPM annual meeting frame a picture of the current state of the U.S. petroleum refining industry On a broad level, the outlook for the U.S. petroleum-refining industry remains bright, despite a recent decline in crude oil…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), the leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), showed a 0.1% gain in April, while, the Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) remained stable through March. Both pieces…
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) decreased by 0.3% in March, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report. The decline in March follows flat growth for February and is…
The Performance Products division of Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Texas; www.huntsman.com) today announced plans to expand capacity of specialty amines at its manufacturing facilities in Petfurdo, Hungary and Conroe, Tex. The new multipurpose unit at Petfurdo extends the Huntsman manufacturing…
The preliminary value for the February 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) declined from the previous month’s value and now stands at 0.7% lower than the corresponding value from a year ago. The Equipment, Construction Labor and…
The composite leading indicator (CLI) for February from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD; Paris; www.oecd.org) suggests “strengthening growth momentum in the Euro area,” according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council…
The S&P Index for chemical companies fell by 4.6% in March, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economics Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The decline in chemical equities is larger than the dip in…
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…