Carmakers located in China have extended shutdowns amid the coronavirus Hubei, the centre of the outbreak, is home to 10% of Chinese car manufacturing capacity Polypropylene is the most widely used polymer in car manufacturing and will see demand stall during the extended shutdowns Textile manufacturing centers along coast are also extending polyester fiber shutdowns and pushing raw materials back into the PTA, MEG and paraxylene markets Oversupplied aromatics markets will need to look to the already depressed gasoline blending pool as an alternative to the polyester value chain China’s automobile and synthetic textile industries have seen operations brought to a languid pace amid the virus outbreak. This means lower demand for plastic goods that go into the manufacturing of automobiles, packaging for electronics and textiles used in clothing manufacturing around the world. Ultimately, this feeds upstream into lower demand for chemical feedstocks and overall oil demand. Receive […]