LOGISTICS

Free passage as a utopian ideal? / Hormuz tolls put global shipping – and maritime law – under pressure

ARTIFICIAL TURF RECYCLING

European Commission accuses synthetic turf companies of cartel activity in recycling market

ADNOC

Chair of Covestro's supervisory board Rainer Seele: ‘The EU has over-regulated domestic markets'

PRYME

Repeated reactor failures force closure of only chemical recycling plant

VENATOR

TiO2 producer to shut Krefeld-Uerdingen site permanently / Around 350 jobs affected

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

PVC to RVC: Record labels and partners press play on Recycled Vinyl Campaign

MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT

CEE plastics industry feels sting of Hormuz blockade / Region highly dependent on imports / Major converters halt purchases, sacrifice production capacity / Recyclers see temporary benefits

EUROPEAN CAR INDUSTRY

Sales improve again / UK booms / Hybrids dominate

COVESTRO

Centre for TPU application development opens in China

AKG

Austrian blow moulder rescued as Schoeller steps in / Other Robust group plants shut down

BIRLA CARBON

Carbon black producer streamlines structure / Review of plant network initiated

ORBIA

Mexican PVC group sees slight increase in turnover in Q1 / Polymers division disappoints

RECYCLING USA

California plastic packaging law takes shape / All packaging must be recyclable or compostable by 2032 / Producers face extended responsibility rules

CELANESE

Q1 income rebounds on cost cuts / Singapore PA 6.6 closure planned / Q2 outlook improves

PLASTIVALOIRE

At the halfway point, the French automotive supplier is financially on track / Forecast confirmed

ETIMEX PRIMARY PACKAGING

Expansion of capacity for monoblister films, PP thermoformed packaging

POLYMER PRICES

Butadiene June: Asian discounts also push prices lower in Europe

PLASTICS WASTE

Shipments now subject to "prior informed consent" through EU's new digital tracking system / Transitional period for green-listed waste / Germany, UK Europe's largest plastics waste exporters

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Europe's circularity gains mask industrial weakness / Plastics Europe warns of risk of circularity shifting abroad / Circularity repositioned as key to industrial survival

GERMAN BUSINESS CLIMATE

Managers report more hope after dismal April / Morale also improves at processing shops