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Commodity Prices – 2024 & Outlook

In January, my article “Chemical & Plastics Prices – 2023 & Outlook” expressed the view that chemicals and plastics prices would decrease this year. Six months later, it looks like I was right...

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Chemical & Plastics Prices – 2023

In January of this year my article, Chemical Prices Through Pandemic and War, published by Buyers Meeting Point, provided price analyses from 2019 to 2022. The article also predicted, based on third-p...

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Moving Automotive Supply Chains Forward with Backwards Vertical Integration

The last three years have been a time of unprecedented disruption. Combined disturbances from the pandemic, war in eastern Europe, uncertainty in Asia, weather patterns, labor strikes, regulatory chan...

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Chemical Industry – Snapshot at Pandemic

The Chemical industry has two unique characteristics. It has the most diversified end-use markets across all manufacturing industries, and its biggest customer is the Chemical industry itself (27%). S...

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The March 2021 ISM-New York Report on Business: One Year Later

In March, New York City purchasing managers reported directional optimism one year after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic first materialized in this Report, according to the survey taken by the In...

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The February 2021 ISM-New York Report on Business: Another Down Month

In February, New York City purchasing managers reported significant drops in Current Business Conditions and Employment, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York. ...

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The January 2021 ISM-New York Report on Business: New Year Optimism Falters

New York - In January, New York City purchasing managers reported decreased activity in every index except Prices Paid, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York. T...

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Chemicals and Plastics - Global Outlook January 2021

The year 2020 witnessed a global Covid pandemic and the biggest GDP reduction since the Great Depression of 1929. Of course, Chemicals & Plastics (C&P) have also been affected globally, but there is no public data available yet for the year.

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The December 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: Starting 2021 with Lofty Expectations

In December, New York City purchasing managers reported increased activity in every index for the first time since May's report began the slow climb back from the peak of the pandemic's impact, accord...

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The November 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: Slowdowns Across the Board

In November, New York City purchasing managers reported that the activity aligned with every index except Prices Paid had slowed down, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York.

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The October 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: Escaping Velocity?

In October, New York City purchasing managers reported growth level numbers in every index except Current Revenues, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York. Click...

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Negotiating with Indices

The results are in for your RFP (Request for Proposal), now it’s time to pick the supplier(s), sign the contract, and place the orders (Woohoo!).  But, have you considered the next critical step ...

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The September 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: Continued Adjustment to Uncertainty

In September, New York City purchasing managers reported significant short-term improvements in Current Business Conditions and Current Revenues against a drop in Six-Month Outlook, according to the s...

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The August 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: Not July, But Still an Improvement

The August ISM-New York Report on Business was released on September 2nd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here: 2020_ISM-New_York_August_ROB_v02.pdf. Please see the end of this commenta...

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Pandemic Impact on Prices – Chemicals & Plastics

The current public health crisis due to COVID-19 has impacted not only people’s lives but also businesses around the globe. The demand in most sectors has shrunk, and with supply and demand unbalanced, the price of most products has been affected. With less demand, most products have seen price decreases, but there are exceptions.

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Engineered Products as Commodities? It’s Time to Rethink Procurement Metrics

Procurement teams that use the Internet to research highly engineered components and then select a lower-priced alternative product may think they’re doing a good job, especially if they are measured on how well they manage cost. Yet they may unknowingly be putting their companies at risk.

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The July 2020 ISM-New York Report on Business: The Rebound Continues

The July ISM-New York Report on Business was released on August 4th at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here pdf2020_ISM-New_York_July_ROB_v01.pdf. Please see the end of this commentary for additional information about the ISM-New York Report on Business.

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The June ISM-New York Report on Business: Big Changes, Small Changes

The June ISM-New York Report on Business was released on July 2nd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here 2020_ISM-New_York_June_ROB_v01.pdf. Please see the end of this commentary for additional information about the ISM-New York Report on Business.

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The May ISM-New York Report on Business: The Rebound Begins

The May ISM-New York Report on Business was released on June 2nd at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download here: pdf2020_ISM-New_York_May_ROB_v02.pdf. Please see the end of this commentary for additional information about the ISM-New York Report on Business.

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The April ISM-New York Report on Business: Searching for the Bottom

The April ISM-New York Report on Business was released on May 4th at 9:45am Eastern and is available for download pdfhere. Please see the end of this commentary for additional information about the ISM-New York Report on Business.

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