With about six weeks left in 2024 (And how is that possible? Wasn't it just the Fourth of July?) most of the materials stocks tracked by Plastics News are eager to flip the calendar to 2025.
Seven of those 11 firms have seen per-share stock price declines averaging 30 percent between Jan. 1 and early trading on Nov. 15. One of those 11 has seen essentially flat pricing.
In that stretch, per-share prices at Westlake Corp., Dow Inc., Huntsman Corp. and Hexcel Corp. are down between 9 percent and 25 percent. Per-share prices at Trinseo, Chemours Co. and Celanese Corp. have fared even worse, plunging 40-60 percent. Lower global demand for many plastics and chemical products have played a role in these price declines.
Per-share prices at nylon supplier AdvanSix Inc. essentially were flat in that period.
The overachievers in the public plastics crowd have been Eastman Chemical Co., up 13 percent; Avient Corp., up 22 percent; and Cabot Corp., up 31 percent. But even among those three, only Cabot, a leading supplier of carbon black additives and concentrates, has outperformed both the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 15 percent) and S&P 500 (up 23 percent) in that comparison.
Dow Inc. had been one of the 30 firms included in the DJIA, but recently was replaced by global paint supplier Sherwin-Wiliams Co. of Cleveland.
The performance of most of the materials firms tracked by PN is connected to the global chemicals market. In a recent report, financial firm Deloitte said the chemical industry "has made moderate progress" in 2024, increasing year-over-year production above 2023 levels. The report added that "it's estimated that production levels will continue to rise, as the destocking cycle wanes and demand rises across most products."
But the report also noted that, to further support revenue growth, chemical firms have announced cost-reduction plans and have begun to increase margins. They have done this while continuing to invest in decarbonization and innovation.
"In 2025, we expect the industry to continue its recovery, adjusting to new market drivers while balancing short- and long-term goals," Deloitte officials said.