Business & Economics
U.S. chemical industry production rises in September, ACC says
Overall production in the U.S. chemical industry rebounded in September, rising by 0.4% to 103.5% of its average 2012 value, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Pharmaceutical production…
Clariant opens biotechnology center
Global specialty chemical maker Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) officially opened its new Group Biotechnology Research Center in Planegg, near Munich, today. In a ceremony attended by Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology, the key…
Grace to license Unipol polypropylene technology in South Korea; and more business news
Plant Watch Technip to provide EPC services for Unipetrol HDPE plant September 10, 2015 — Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) was awarded a contract by Unipetrol (Prague, Czech Republic; www.unipetrol.cz), covering the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a new polyethylene…
What is Your Engineering Ethics IQ?
These seven-steps form a guideline for handling ethically challenging situations in technical jobs Exercising sound ethics in the chemical process industries (CPI) surely requires a large dose of technical know-how, but it also requires a set of good ethical practices…
Engineering Ethics Survey: What’s Your Opinion?
How would you respond to these hypothetical situations involving ethics questions in the CPI? Although not an everyday occurrence, ethical questions, large and small, confront each of us in our professional lives. For professionals in the chemical process industries (CPI),…
CAB drops in September, ACC report says
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator for the chemical process industries developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), dropped in September following a revised decline in August, according to the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemical…
Current Economic Trends
The preliminary value for the July 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) fell compared to the previous month’s value, driven by a decline in the Equipment subindex. The Construction Labor, Buildings and Engineering & Supervision subindices…
Specialty chemical volumes fall slightly in August, ACC says
Specialty chemical market volumes in the U.S. fell by 0.1% in August, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The retreat follows a 1.3% gain in July and a…
Composite leading indicator suggest mixed economic trends, ACC report says
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD; Paris; www.oecd.org) released its composite leading indicator (CLI) for July, and the results, discussed in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), suggest…
Chemical equity performance fell in August, ACC report says
The S&P index for chemical companies fell by 6.5% in August, while the broader S&P 500 index also fell 6.3%, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The August…