MOSCOW (MRC) -- ACC’s chemical activity barometer (CAB), a leading indicator and composite index of industry activity, rose 0.7% sequentially in April on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, following a 1.1% gain in March and an 0.9% gain in February, according to ACC.
The CAB was up 12.0% on a year-on-year (YOY) basis, as the year-ago period represents the trough of the COVID-19 recession.
“The latest CAB reading is consistent with solid expansion of commerce, trade and industry,” said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC.
In April, production-related indicators were positive. Trends in construction-related resins and related performance chemistry were solid, indicative of robust gains in this sector.
Resins and chemistry used in other durable goods were strong, reflecting growing orders for light vehicles, furniture, capital equipment, consumer electronics and other durable goods.
Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were positive, a mark of rising consumer spending. Performance chemistry for industry was largely positive, reflecting strength in manufacturing. US exports were positive.
Equity prices showed further gains. Product and input prices were positive, as were inventory and other supply chain indicators.
As MRC informed before, ACC’s chemical activity barometer rose 1.5% in January, following a 1.3% increase in December, on a sequential three-month moving average (3MMA). The barometer was up 1.3% on a year-on-year (YOY) basis in January.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in February 2021 by 5.3% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 7.5% in the first two months of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. February production of polymers in primary form was 861,000 tonnes versus 196,000 tonnes in January. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 1,770,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8.4% year on year.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC