Both the global and U.S. chemical production regional indices (Global CPRI and U.S. CPRI, respectively) rose in February, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).
The global CPRI was up 0.3% in February, the third consecutive monthly gain, while the U.S. CPRI rose 0.5%, following a revised gain in the previous month. On a three-month-moving average basis, the global CPRI is 1.9% higher than at this time last year, ACC said. Production volumes in Western Europe, Russia and Japan were down, while most other regions showed gains.
In the U.S., all regions showed increased chemical production volumes, led by the Ohio Valley with a 3.0% gain. The Southeast, Gulf Coast and Northeast regions all showed gains of around 1.5%, while the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions were slightly higher in February, according to the ACC data.
In ACC’s weekly assessment of economic reports, the organization said that the largely housing-focused reports were positive for the most part.