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The global economy has fallen on difficult times. Europe has been teetering on the brink of recession since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. US economic growth is relatively strong but not without obstacles such as high inflation and a weak housing market. China is only slowly recovering from the extended lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to a tough macroeconomic environment, unique troubles have plagued chemical producers. Most experienced a harrowing inventory correction last year as customers depleted their own stocks of materials instead of buying new. And even as demand has faltered, supplies have been growing. The sector built up too much capacity, too quickly, particularly in the US and China. Some important segments, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, won't fully recover for several years. The slump is plainly apparent in this year's survey of the top 50 US chemical producers. Revenues declined for 38
Alex Tullo (Mon,) studied this question.