MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical railcar traffic in North America increased 5.4% year over year (YOY) during the week ended 26 June on gains in the US and Mexico, according to data released on 24 June by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Volume totaled 44,238 carloads, down 3.5% from the previous week, according to data released on 30 June by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
On a four-week basis, volume increased 13.7% from 2020 and 0.6% from 2019 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America as up 4.6% from 2020 and down 0.1% from 2019.
Chemical railcar traffic in the United States contributed 31,624 carloads to the total, up 7.8% YOY and down 2.4% from the previous week. For the year to date, US chemical railcar traffic was up 5.3%.
Canadian chemical rail traffic totaled 11,853 carloads, down 0.5% YOY and down 6.6% from the previous week. For the year to date, Canadian chemical railcar traffic was up 3.7%.
Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totaled 761 carloads, a YOY increase of 2.6% and a sequential increase of 2.4%. For the year to date, Mexican chemical railcar traffic was down 8.7%.
As MRC reported earelier, the shale gas advantage of North American petrochemical majors provides a boost for investments in the region, primarily in the US. However, the oil price crash narrowed this advantage and is likely to affect profitability. North American petrochemical majors that strive to pace investments efficiently, in line with market trends, will boost their competitiveness and seize further opportunities for growth over the long-term, said GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, in March 2021.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC