BOPP FILMS

Pandemic spurs global growth / Capacity rises to over 16 mn t per year / China home to half of world output / Brückner dominates film line sales

EXXONMOBIL / SABIC

Start-up of ethane cracker in Texas / Facility claimed to be world's largest / US site to also produce PE

BOPP FILMS

Biaxial films growing steadily worldwide / PP remains clear leader despite upturn in PET / Plant technology sector highly concentrated / Overcapacities dominate picture

UBE MACHINERY

Merger with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' injection moulding machinery business complete / Response to “increasingly severe” business environment

UBE MACHINERY

Deal for majority stake in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' injection moulding machinery subsidiary

PETROCHEMICAL MARKETS

Work on US Gulf Coast crackers and PE plants gears up / ChevronPhillips and ExxonMobil lead the way / Some 30% of expanded US commodity plastics output to be exported by 2020

BOPP FILM MARKET

Plant expansion still too fast for healthy consumption growth / Capacity utilisation below 70% / Consolidation unavoidable / Situation in China unclear / Middle East expands single-mindedly