Chemical production in the U.S. rose 0.5% in March, and was up from the previous month in all seven geographic regions, the American Chemistry Council reported in its Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends report for April 23.
It is the sixth consecutive month that U.S. chemicals production was up in each of the seven geographic regions (Gulf Coast, Midwest, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Northeast and West Coast). The latest gain is smaller, however, than the 0.6% rise seen in February.
"Overall industrial output continues to strengthen across a broad range of inventories as inventory restocking has begun," ACC comments. Recent data show production increases in agricultural chemicals, consumer products, organic chemicals, plastic resins, synthetic rubber, artificial fibers, adhesives and coatings, ACC explains. The gains were greater in magnitude than declines in the production of pharmaceuticals, inorganic chemicals and other specialties, according to the organization.
Using a three-month moving average (3MMA) to smooth month-to-month fluctuations, ACC found total chemical production in the U.S. in March 2010 to be up 7.4% over its level in March 2009. Chemical production was greater than a year ago in all regions. The greatest year-to-year increase (13.5%) was observed for the Gulf Coast region, followed by the Ohio Valley (9.3%) and Southeast (8.2%) regions. The smallest increases were seen in the Northeast (5.3%) and West Coast (5.5%) regions.
The ACC market capitalization of U.S. basic and specialty chemical companies fell by 1.3% from its value a week ago, closing at $557.1 billion on Thursday. The S&P 500 Index also slipped last week by 0.2%.