Monthly Archives: January 2018

Middle East Propane Exports to Asia Down Two Years in a Row as North America’s Grow

Middle East exports of liquefied propane gas to Asia-Pacific are projected to be down 3% at yearend 2017, to 19.9 million tons. This follows a decline of 7% in Middle East shipments to the region in 2016 versus 2015. The Middle East’s much smaller exports to Africa also were down for the second year.

In contrast, North America’s exports to Asia-Pacific are projected to end up 18% in 2017, to 13.2 million tons. In 2016, North America’s shipments to that region had jumped 81% from the prior year.

North America’s exports to Western Europe and Latin America are projected to be down in 2017 but shipments to Eastern Europe and Africa have risen in each of the last two years.

US exports were 2.6 million tons in October and 2.4 million tons in November, both volumes near record levels. Shipments totaled 24.1 million tons through November, up 14% on higher volumes to Japan, China, Mexico, Korea and many others.

From International Trader Publications’ Liquefied Propane Gas World Trade Report – a continuously updated on line analysis of global trade based on statistics from 60 countries.

 

Surge in China’s Polyethylene Imports in November as Recycle PE Imports Drop

China’s polyethylene imports rebounded strongly in November 2017. This followed a relatively small holiday-related decline in October, versus previous years.  Imports of recycle polyethylene continued trending downward, to their lowest monthly volume in the 2013-2017 period.

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