According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) fell by 0.4 percent in March, following a revised 0.3 percent decline in February and a 0.1 percent gain in January. During March, chemical output was higher in the Northeast and West Coast regions, but fell in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, Ohio Valley and Southeast regions, ACC says. Output in the Mid-Atlantic region was flat.
Chemical production was mixed over the three-month period. There were gains in the production three-month moving average (3MMA) output trend in adhesives, coatings, other specialty chemicals, synthetic rubber, fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, consumer products and chlor-alkali. These increases were offset by declines in the output of plastic resins, organic chemicals, industrial gases, manufactured fibers and other inorganic chemicals.
Nearly all manufactured goods are produced using chemistry in some form. Thus, manufacturing activity is an important indicator for chemical production. On a 3MMA basis, manufacturing activity slipped by 0.3 percent in March, the second straight decline since May 2018. Output expanded in several chemistry-intensive manufacturing industries, including food and beverages, aerospace, computers and electronics, semiconductors, and oil and gas extraction.
Compared with March 2018, U.S. chemical production was up by 3.1 percent on a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, a weaker comparison than in February. Chemical production was higher than a year ago in all regions, with the largest gains in the Gulf Coast region, reflecting gains in the output at new shale-advantaged chemical plants.