U.S. chemical production declines for three months straight
According to the American Chemistry Council’s U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (CPRI), the nation’s output fell throughout September, October, and November, due to a mix of weak export markets and slow output in multiple manufacturing industries.
Built on a three-month moving average to track chemical production activity across seven regions of the United States, the CPRI was developed by ACC based on information from the Federal Reserve.
October fared the best of these most recent months, with only a 0.3 percent drop, but both September and November oversaw a 0.4 percent decline compared to previous months. The largest hit came from the Gulf Coast, which houses a sizable chunk of the country’s basic industrial chemical and synthetic materials capacity. Still, despite the losses, the figures for November were essentially unchanged from the same time last year. Chemical production was up comparatively in all regions except the Gulf Coast.
Looking at November specifically, the scene could be described as mixed at best. Industry gains buoyed the production of coatings, adhesives, and other specialty chemicals; industrial gasses; synthetic dyes and pigments. However, these gains were wiped out by lower production of plastic resins; organic chemicals; synthetic rubber; manufactured fibers; consumer products; fertilizers and crop protection chemicals.
On the manufacturing side, output was flat for November, but the overall three-month trend was more mixed. This is important to note because essentially all manufactured goods utilize some form of chemistry in their production, so manufacturing activity can indicate and drive the larger chemical demand/output.
