C&EN: "Chemical makers cut back amid uncertainty"

In this week's Chemical and Engineering News, this bad news (article by Alex Tullo): 

The second quarter was a challenging one for US and European chemical makers. Sales crept up, but lower selling prices derailed the industry’s efforts to post substantive gains from a year ago. With expectations of sluggish business for the remainder of the year, chemical firms are taking matters into their own hands by cutting costs and trimming unprofitable assets and questionable projects.

Results at the world’s largest chemical maker, BASF, were mixed. Sales declined by 6.9% from the prior-year quarter, but earnings excluding special items rose by 29.2%.

“We saw a continuation of the dynamics of the first quarter, marked by positive volume momentum across most of our businesses,” BASF CEO Markus Kamieth says in prepared remarks. Lower selling prices for its products drove the sales declines.

A bright spot for the diversified German company was its chemical business, which saw a 6.0% increase in sales driven largely by stronger petrochemical volumes.

A weakness for BASF was agricultural chemicals, particularly for glufosinate-ammonium. Due to heavy competition, the company is ending production of the weed killer at its sites in Knapsack and Frankfurt, Germany, by the end of 2024.

BASF is also cutting investment in battery materials. It has canceled plans for a nickel-cobalt refining complex in Indonesia and paused work on a battery recycling plant in Spain. “Recent dynamics have changed, and the market penetration of electric vehicles has slowed down significantly outside of China,” Kamieth said.

This certainly isn't great news for hiring in the chemical industry. Bears continued watching...