US chemical production up in August

Washington – The US chemical production regional index (US CPRI) rose by 0.6% in August following a 1.0% gain in July and a 1.4% decline in June, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). 

During August, chemical output expanded in all regions except the US west coast, with the largest gains occurring in the gulf coast region, the ACC said in a 23 Sept report.

According to the report, chemical production continued to improve in many segments, including synthetic rubber, plastic resins, chlor-alkali and organic chemicals.

Manufacturing moved lower in adhesives, coatings and other speciality chemicals during the month. 

Compared with August 2019, US chemical production was off by 4.8% on a year-over-year basis, the fifteenth consecutive month of year on year declines.

However, the figures show an improvement over the past several months, ACC added.

According to ACC, with a value of $565 billion (€478 billion), the chemistry industry is one of the largest industries in the US and the manufacturing sector is the largest consumer of chemical products.