North American vehicle sales up in January

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following record 2015 volumes, Canadian vehicle sales started 2016 with a further 9.6% year-over-year increase, with several automakers reporting record volumes, said Canplastics.

According to the latest Scotiabank Auto News Flash, sales averaged an annualized 1.97 million units in January, well above the full-year 2015 annual record of 1.90 million. "Volumes were boosted by new model introductions and better weather conditions than during the previous two years,” the report said. “Light trucks continued to lead the way, surging 17 per cent above a year earlier alongside a 22 per cent surge for imported brands. Eight non-North American automakers reported light truck gains in excess of 25 per cent year-over-year – a feat attained by only one North American manufacturer."

Vehicle sales in the U.S. also posted a better-than-expected start to 2016, the report continued, as American consumers were undeterred by snow storms or unsettled global equity markets and continued to buy light trucks at a record pace. "We estimate that new car and light truck sales totalled an annualized 17.5 million units last month, buoyed by double-digit year-over-year gains for crossover utility vehicles," the report said. “Auto demand remains a bright light amid an unsettled global economic environment, with purchases continuing to strengthen alongside improving household balance sheets, solid employment gains, as well as low interest rates and gasoline prices. With the average age of the U.S. fleet at a record 11.5 years, replacement demand will continue to lift industry volumes.

The automotive industry in Canada consists primarily of assembly plants of foreign automakers, most with headquarters in the United States or Japan, along with hundreds of manufacturers of automotive parts and systems. Canada is currently the tenth largest auto producer in the world, producing 2.1 million cars a year, down from seventh place with 3 million per year a few years ago. China, Spain, India, Brazil, Mexico recently surpassed Canadian production for the first time. Canada's highest rankings ever was second largest producer in the world between 1918 and 1923 and third after WWII.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Automaker Toyota Motor Corporation is suspending production on all assembly lines across Japan as a result of a parts shortage – but North American vehicle and parts production will not be affected, said Canplastics.

The pause in production in Japan will be in effect from February 8 to February 13, the company said in a statement.

According to Toyota, the six-day closure is a result of an explosion that occurred January 8 at an Aichi Steel Corp. manufacturing facility.

"Toyota will continue to take any measures necessary to minimize the impact of this incident on vehicle production," the company said. "Such measures may include production on alternate lines operated by Aichi Steel and procurement from other steelmakers."

Toyota vehicles are scheduled to begin production again on February 15. None of the company’s production outside of Japan will be affected, Toyota said.

As MRC informed earlier, Toyota Motor Corp said it will build new factories in Mexico and China, ending a self-imposed expansion freeze and putting more pressure on global rivals. The world's largest automaker by sales volume said it would build a USD1 billion plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 cars in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, increasing its overall North American production capacity by about the same number of vehicles. That plant, Toyota's first passenger car plant in Mexico, would have about 2,000 workers.

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In March 2014 the multinational corporation consisted of 338,875 employees worldwide and, as of February 2016, is the 13th-largest company in the world by revenue.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand's PTT Phenol Company (PPCL) added 250,000 mt/year of phenol production capacity late 2015, a company source told TPS.

The company completed its Phenol 2 project that added a phenol capacity of 250,000 mt/year and an acetone capacity of 155,000 mt/year in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.

Prior to the expansion, the company had an existing capacity of 200,000 mt/year of phenol and 124,000 mt/year of acetone.

As MRC informed previously, initially the company scheduled the start-up of a new phenol plant in mid-November 2015.

PPCL is a subsidiary of Thailand's state-linked energy company PTT.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea’s major integrated producer SK Innovation will expand its petrochemical business in China by strengthening partnerships with the Chinese petrochemical companies, according to SK Innovation CEO Chung Chul-khil Thursday, reported TPS.

Chung said that SK Innovation will conduct a 'China-oriented' petrochemical business strategy via active mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as well as partnerships with the Chinese petrochemical majors, South Korea’s Financial News reported.

"There are a lot of concerns over the slowdown of the Chinese economy but I believe that China is still the world’s largest petrochemical market with enormous potential for growth," Chung said.

"The joint venture that we had with Sinopec presents an excellent example. We need to forge more partnerships with the Chinese counterparts in order to accelerate petrochemical business in China," Chung added.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2013, SK Innovation formed a joint venture with Sinopec via its petrochemical subsidiary SK Global Chemical (SKGC) in Wuhan, China.

The joint venture’s Wuhan plant has started commercial operation since January 2014. It has a naphtha cracking center (NCC) that is able to produce up to 800,000 mt/year of ethylene, 600,000 mt/year of polyethylene (PE) and 400,000 mt/year of polypropylene (PP).

According to SKGC, the joint venture’s 2015 operating profit is estimated to have increased by threefold on year to USD387.14 million (KRW 465 billion).

"SK Innovation’s partnership with Sinopec was an outcome of the company’s so called ‘China Insider’ strategy that aimed to construct ‘Second SK’ in China. We will continue our efforts to build the ‘Third and Fourth SK’ in China," Chung said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell is postponing the final investment decision (FID) on its multi-billion-dollar LNG Canada project in British Columbia, the company announced on its site.

"We are making substantial changes in the company, reorganizing our upstream, and reducing costs and capital investment, as we refocus Shell, and respond to lower oil prices," Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said on a Thursday conference call announcing its fourth quarter and full-year results.

"For 2016, we have exited the Bab sour gas project in Abu Dhabi, and are postponing final investment decisions on LNG Canada and Bonga South West in deep water Nigeria," he added.

The Shell-led LNG Canada JV received a permit from British Columbia’s Oil and Gas Commission in January for its proposed project located near Kitimat.

The Canadian National Energy Board also recently granted a 40-year export licence to LNG Canada.

Under the licence, which still must be approved by the Governor in Council, LNG Canada is allowed to export 1494 billion cubic meters.

The project, proposed by a JV of Shell, PetroChina, Kogas and Mitsubishi Corp., would initially consist of two 6.5 MMtpy LNG production trains with an option to expand the facility with two more trains.

As MRC informed earlier, Royal Dutch Shell said fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 44% as the collapse in oil prices took its toll on another European oil company. Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes shrank to USD1.8 billion.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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