Unprecedented price volatility hits ethylene spot markets

The boom in US ethane supplies, due to the proliferation of drilling in shale gas plays, has prompted the US petrochemical industry to expand steam cracker capacity and build a number of new crackers recently. A wave of unplanned outages and delays in unit restarts from planned maintenance has created exceptional price volatility in the ethylene spot markets this summer. Genscape suggests that the increase in price volatility is not a short-term phenomenon. The recent wave of unplanned outages and delays in unit restarts from planned maintenance will likely be a trend that will persist, to some extent, for the rest of 2014 and beyond. As the US petrochemical industry expands existing infrastructure and seeks to capture wide profit margins, the propensity for unforeseen reductions in ethylene capacity remains in the near to medium term. “With ongoing volatility and high potential for outages and the shift toward feedstock, it's essential for market participants to have clarity around the complex ethylene market,” said Suzanne Evans, Genscape’s senior product manager for petrochemicals and NGLs. “Transparency in fundamentals reduces market inefficiency and in turn, undue price volatility.” The natural fiber composites (NFCs) are used in a variety of markets such as automotive, construction, electrical and electronics, and sporting goods. As a competitor to the traditional materials such as steel, aluminum, and other advanced composite materials, NFCs have gained favor among the OEMs for their performance characteristics such as lighter weight, recyclability, and sound insulation. Variety of resins such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polylactide acid, and epoxy are used in making of NFCs. Polypropylene is the most dominant resin used in the natural fiber composites market. The natural fiber composites market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% during 2014-2019, as per Lucintel. Europe is representing more than 50% of the global market in 2019 because of the regulations now require their automobile components to be recyclable. Automotive industry is the largest consumer of NFC during the trend period and is anticipated to remain the largest application market by 2019 followed by the construction industry. The natural fiber composites is replacing traditionally unreinforced plastic parts in automotive industry and even used as an alternative to glass fibers. The rising penetration of the natural fiber composites in automotive interiors to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle, in order to achieve better fuel efficiency is the major driving force of the industry. Natural fiber composites are mostly used in door panels, package trays, seat backs and trunk liners in cars and trucks. Significant new applications of natural fiber composites are emerging. The renewable energy and consumer goods markets are the new application areas for natural fiber composites. FlexForm Technologies, Tecnaro GmbH, Procotex SA Corporation NV, GreenGran B.V., and FiberGran GmbH & Co. KG., are some of the suppliers of the natural fiber composite materials for various applications. These companies are important players in the composites market because of their innovation and investment in research and development to find new applications for NFCs.