Circulated amongst members, the survey contains feedback from businesses including manufacturers and distributors from throughout the chemical supply chain and wider chemical industry.
Results, for the third quarter of 2024, indicate some evidence of ‘stabilisation’ and limited levels of improvement throughout the chemical supply chain, though serious issues do remain.
Half of all those who responded claimed order books and future sales prospects were the same as the previous three months, whilst 55% said their current sales have not changed since Q2 2024.
While the results generally indicate a flat market, there was a marginal 5-10% decline since Q2 in the number of respondents who expected improvements across these categories, both in terms of comparison to the previous quarter and predictions for the future.
They do, however, represent a significant improvement over the same period in 2023, particularly pertaining to current sales figures, with the latest survey showing 20% of respondents report current sales have improved since the previous quarter, compared with only 9% in Q3 2023.
The stabilising trend continues when considering current sales margins, where over three quarters of those who completed the survey reported no change when compared to Q2. Some improvements can be evidenced, with 18% expecting the coming quarter to result in better sales margins, whereas no respondents predicted an increase in Q3 2023.
Small signs of improvement can also be seen when analysing the responses surrounding the topic of logistics issues with imports or exports. Respondents reporting road haulage capacity problems both in the EU and UK has dropped by half since the previous quarter and only 16% are reporting issues pertaining to the Ukraine/Russia conflict, compared with 31% in Q2 and 38% in Q3 2023.
Despite this, escalating shipping costs remain a serious problem. Whilst there is a 10% improvement on the previous survey, a huge 57% of respondents are still experiencing issues because of increasing shipping costs, compared to only 21% in the same period last year. Disruptions relating to the Red Sea and Suez Canal situations are also ongoing, with 57% expressing the disruption as a key issue affecting their operations. Other business-limiting factors cited by respondents were longer transit times, UK REACH regulation uncertainty and the recent port strikes in the US.
Tim Doggett, Chemical Business Association’s CEO said: “The latest survey, whilst mildly encouraging, as it does show some signs of stability and very limited improvements, does highlight the impact and effects European, also Global, macro-economic events can have on the chemical supply chain and indeed the wider chemical industry not to mention economy.”
He added: “The issues described in the survey, particularly relating to import and export disruptions, is of the upmost importance to the Association as it continues to navigate these challenges with the new government, stakeholders and industry leaders, not only on behalf of our membership, but to the benefit of the entire chemical supply chain. The CBA continues to lobby and advocate on behalf of the chemical supply chain for swift and seamless solutions to the sector’s most disruptive issues.”
*The survey sample polled 40 members.