Winter is coming: Global slowdown to weigh on chemical cargos
23 August 2019
US (dark blue), Germany (orange) and Japan (light blue) manufacturing sectors slowing
The global economy appears to be slowing, with manufacturing PMIs in the US, Germany, and Japan all weakening (see chart above). China is slowing as well; industrial output grew only 4.8% YoY in July, the slowest rate of increase since the early 1990s. As factory utilization rates fall, demand for petrochemical feedstocks will ease. Slowing growth poses downside risk to our chemical freight forecasts.