Utilization rate of ethylene equipment in Japan continues to decline

Statistics recently released by the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association show that the utilization rate of ethylene equipment in Japan was 81.5% in January, slightly higher than the 81.4% in December 2022, but still below the 90% target value of the business barometer for six consecutive months. 

According to the association, in terms of exports, market demand was lower than expected due to the Chinese New Year holiday in January; household consumption in the domestic market has declined due to reasons such as rising electricity prices.

In that month, Japan's ethylene production was 482,600 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 5%. In January 2022, there was a set of production equipment in the industry undergoing scheduled maintenance, while in January this year, although there was no equipment scheduled maintenance, there was a decline in production. Compared with the 94.1% utilization rate of ethylene equipment in the month of last year, it has dropped by more than 10 percentage points.

In that month, the export volume of Japan's four main resins, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, was lower than that of the same period last year. The association had expected demand to increase after the Chinese New Year holiday, but actual demand remained limited.