Employment of production workers in the U.S. chemical industry rose by 2,300 jobs (0.5%) to 503,000 in July, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that were discussed in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington,D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Along with a slight rise in average workweek, the data suggest expanding production, the ACC report said. However, other manufacturing data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) point to lowered activity in chemical manufacturing in the U.S.
For the wider economy, non-farm payrolls rose by 163,000 in July, a development that was above expectations, the ACC report said, referencing the BLS data.
According to ACC’s analysis, the S&P index for chemical companies slipped by 0.5% during July, despite an overall gain of 1.3% by the full S&P 500 Index. The S&P chemicals index was up 12.7% from the beginning of the year. By comparison, the S&P was up 9.7% thus far this year.
ACC reported that U.S. production of major plastic resins totaled 6.1 billion pounds during June 2012; a decrease of 0.8% compared to last year at this time. Year-to-date production was 37.3 billion pounds, unchanged as compared to the same period in 2011. U.S. specialty chemicals market volume rose 0.7% in June, more than offsetting a 0.6% decline in May, ACC said. During June, there were large gains in the markets for antioxidants, catalysts, cosmetic additives, pigments, plastic additives, plasticizers, rubber processing chemicals, and textile specialties. Market volume gains for most other segments were more modest, ACC added.