Newsletter - November

Market Updates

• Bloomberg reports S&P 500 companies mentioned the phrase “supply chain” about 3,000 times on Third Quarter investor calls

• Container ships anchored and waiting to enter US ports reached 665 with the average Los Angeles wait times reaching 12 days (Seaexplorer.com, Kuehne+Nagel International AG)

• Inflation resulting from the supply chain breakdown, labor shortages, and consumer spending has prices +6.2% higher than a year ago (US Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index) and the largest 12-month increase in thirty years (since 1990)

• Particularly noteworthy is the US government’s energy index – prices for fuel, gasoline, propane, heating oils – have risen 30% over the past year

Plastics Newsletter - November

Barentz Provides Insights on Supply Chain constraints with Customer Webinars in November

Rapidly changing supply chain bottlenecks and cost escalation are creating new challenges for businesses across the globe. Effectively managing risk and overcoming obstacles is critical to serving customers and maintaining competitiveness. To help customers understand the drivers and develop solutions, Barentz hosted a webinar series titled “Global Supply Challenges – Developing a Strategy from Chaos” reaching over 500 attendees in 3 sessions. Key points from the presentations included:

Causes for disruption
• Increased consumer spending, reduced manufacturing investment, inventory building
• Increasing bottlenecks caused by trucking shortages, port backlogs, product/energy shortages, labor issues

Outlook and strategies
• Expect inflation and shortages into 2H2022
• Forecasting accuracy, extended lead times and forward commitments reduce risk
• Investment within supply chain management and technology is critical to resolution

Barentz is responding with new technology, global business networks, value-based service offerings, and integrated cross-functional teams to provide solutions for our customers. We strive to create value for our partners on a daily basis, working together through the current disruptions is essential for all of our businesses to flourish and succeed through these challenging times.

Plastics Newsletter - November

Ionphase™ Anti-Static Additives

Croda's Ionphase™ products are a family of inherently dissipative polymers (IDPs) used as an internal anti-static polymer additive. Plastic products formulated with Ionphase™ have immediate and permanent static dissipative properties with excellent functionality in low humidity environments. Compared to traditional migratory small molecule chemistry, Ionphase™ products improve safety and anti-static performance by:

• Dissipating charges rapidly and efficiently
• Preventing risk of explosion and dust build-up with no need for grounding or conditioning time
• Imparting permanent static dissipative properties throughout the life cycle of the polymer article
• Improving processing
• Imparting no sticky or greasy surfaces, and preventing contamination of material and packaged goods due to the non-migratory polymeric nature

Ionphase™ technology can be utilized in a wide range of polymers and end-use markets, which include electronics and semiconductors, chemicals, food, automotive, and consumer appliances. Contact us or visit www.barentz-na.com for more information 440-937-1000.

Croda Products

Plastics Newsletter - November

Synergistic PVC Stabilizer Blends Based on Calcium/Zinc from Norac

Matching or even approaching the performance of historical barium-based PVC stabilizers in the pursuit of removing heavy metals has proven elusive to many formulators. NORSTAB Ca/Zn stabilizers impart outstanding processing and thermal stability to PVC systems without the need for embarking on a complex, expensive, and time-consuming series of Edisonian trial-and-error experimentation. Various grades are available that have been pre-optimized for different PVC systems, including flexible/rigid, pigmented/clear, etc. FDA grades are also available.

To learn more about NORSTAB products; contact your account manager, visit us at www.barentz-na.com, or contact PlasticTechSupport@barentz.us for a technical discussion! Samples are available. Call us today 440-937-1000.

Norac Products

Commodities Report

See the Latest Market Data

Barentz' monthly Commodities Report tracks select raw materials and currencies allowing you to gain a better understanding of some of the key cost drivers in our industry.

2025-October-Commodities-Report