Kickstart: Shell's problems create a cloudy pricing picture

Forecasting what swings resin prices will take means relying on an expected flow of material. As PN's Frank Esposito noted in this month's Polymer Points Live webinar May 16, problems starting up Shell Chemical's new plant in Monaca, Pa., is complicating the picture for polyethylene.

Shell had to temporarily shut down the plant due to flaring, wastewater treatment and other issues. The plant is expected to have annual production capacity of about 3.5 billion pounds of PE resin, but Frank noted those major startup issues mean it could be out for much of the year.

"Some of these [issues] are tied into normal startup challenges; some of it sounds like it may be more than that," he said. "So that may mean that material is probably not going to hit the market this year."

Subscribers can catch the full discussion — including more on Shell and other pricing changes — here.

Sure we're a little more than a year out from NPE2024. But that just means it's time to think about K 2025.

The Exhibitors' Council just had its first meeting in preparation for K 2025, set for Oct. 8-15 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The council "supports Messe Düsseldorf with … preparation for K 2024 and advises on fundamental conceptual and organizational issues."

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, chairman of Reifenhäuser Group and chairman of the VDMA plastics and rubber machinery association, will retain his position as chairman of the Exhibitors' Council. Thorsten Kühmann, VDMA director, will keep his position as head of the communication committee.

"Over the next few months, the organizers will define the main topics of the upcoming flagship fair," K officials said in a news release. "Application documents will be sent to exhibitors at the beginning of 2024."

Sportswear and show giant Nike is being sued in federal court for claims of fraud over its sustainability marketing.

Maria Guadalupe Ellis filed the suit May 10 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for "deceptively claiming that their [products] are sustainable," website The Fashion Law writes.

Nike has marketed its use of recycled material in clothing and shoes, including the use of post-consumer PET in textiles, but Ellis said that the claims do not "address the fundamental issue of perpetuating disposable solutions and over-consumption of natural resources."

It's not the first suit related to fraud over sustainability, and it likely won't be the last. In 2022, a federal judge in New York ruled in favor of Niagara Bottling LLC in a claim on recyclability issues.