Ethylene production in Japan fell 11% in November 2011 from November 2012

15-Dec-11

Ethylene production in Japan fell 11% in November 2011 vs the same month a year ago, government data showed, reflecting an industry-wide move to lower naphtha cracker utilisation rates amid weakening demand for plastics in China, as per Reuters. Ethylene output totalled 556,500 tons in Nov 2011, compared with 625,400 tons in Nov 2012. November output was down 0.1% from 557,200 tons in October.There were no maintenance-related plant shutdowns in Japan in November, the same as a year earlier and compared to two in October, METI said. Ethylene exports fell 4% to 209,100 tons in October from a year earlier.