Aromatics & Fibers

Keeping Pace with the Rapidly Changing
Global Aromatics & Fibers Markets

Aromatics products directly impact the costs, margins, and supply-demand positions of multiple downstream industries such as styrenics, nylon, polyester, polyurethanes, and phenolics. Aromatics experts from Chemical Market Analytics understand the strategic market drivers for your aromatics and derivatives business
and can explain critical market developments.

Aromatics and Fibers Strategic Insights

Sustainability

Although more pressing crises are focusing attention on aromatics producers, sustainability remains a key objective to avoid plastic recycling taxes and anticipated future emissions charges. Development work is progressing in the polyester, styrenics,  polyurethane, and nylon chains, as well as other areas. Long- term this will impact virgin demand for intermediate products or feedstocks

Mainland China Growth

The covid pandemic has softened demand growth in the largest petrochemical market in the world which represents an important outlet for many aromatics producers, but this has created uncertainty about future growth and the consequent utilization of aromatics quality

Mainland China Self-Sufficiency

Mainland China has undergone a period of rapid capacity expansion in aromatics over recent years, moving the country significantly closer to self-sufficiency for benzene, styrene, phenol, and paraxylene, which will reduce imports from other locations by half or more over the next five years

Crude to Chemicals Capacity Investments

Also located in mainland China have been newly integrated refinery petrochemical sites with a high yield of naphtha and reduced fuel production. These sites continue to be constructed and represent low-cost production capacity relative to other units across Asia

Refinery Rationalization

Refinery rationalizations are expected to threaten aromatics feedstock availability in the long-term and this has been evident in the summer of 2022 through the sudden tightness in octane boosters such as mixed xylenes and toluene, increasing costs for downstream aromatics derivatives

Carbon Emission Allowance

The launch of a CEA (carbon emission allowance) scheme for petrochemicals is anticipated over the next 4-5 year period in mainland China, changing the cost structures of aromatic producers

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Near-Term Solutions


Gain Clarity Needed to Navigate the Changing Polyurethane Feedstocks Market Dynamics.

The Global Polyurethane Feedstocks Market Advisory Service provides accurate price analysis and market intelligence to give a current, independent perspective of polyurethane (PU) feedstock markets (MDI, TDI, propylene oxide, and polyether polyols) enabling clients to navigate the market uncertainty ahead.


Aromatics Assists Clients with the Complex Tasks of Tracking, Evaluating, and Forecasting Change in the Quickly Shifting Aromatics Industry.

Managed by our consultants in Singapore, Asia Aromatics offers clients a comprehensive view of Asian markets for aromatics and derivatives, including an in-depth analysis of economic concerns, trade, and operational issues impacting the industry. Through continual, personal contact with key industry sources, our consultants gather and study industry-specific data, then analyze and translate it into valuable insights and forecasting advice.
Clients receive global weekly market updates and regional monthly market analysis, plus a supplement that provides critical supporting data. Monthly regional Market Advisory Services include our prices, unique metrics, and real-time news and intelligence.


Europe Aromatics Assists Clients with the Complex Tasks of Tracking, Evaluating, and Forecasting Change in the Quickly Shifting Aromatics Industry.

Managed by our consultants in London, who bring years of experience and close ties to industry sources, Europe Aromatics offers clients a comprehensive view of European markets for aromatics and derivatives, including an in-depth analysis of economic concerns, trade, and operational issues impacting the industry. Through continual, personal contact with key industry sources, our consultants gather and study industry-specific data, then analyze and translate it into valuable insights and forecasting advice.

Clients receive global weekly market updates and regional monthly market analysis, plus a supplement that provides critical supporting data. Monthly regional Market Advisory Services include prices, unique metrics, real-time news, and intelligence.


Global Nylon Fibers & Feedstocks Report Helps Clients Monitor and Assess Current and Future Market Dynamics for Key Nylon Fiber Types and Their Primary Feedstocks.

In a rapidly fluctuating industry, our weekly and monthly service provides the essential data you need to optimize your market position. Global Nylon Fibers & Feedstocks report provides a comprehensive view of world markets for the entire nylon value chain, from upstream caprolactam to downstream fiber chip and more. Through continual, personal contacts with key industry participants, our consultants gather data specific to the nylon 6 and 6,6 value chains which they then analyze and translate into meaningful insights and forecasting advice. Clients receive weekly and monthly near-term price outlooks and detailed descriptions of key market indicators.


Global Polyester Fibers & Feedstocks Helps Clients Understand the Current and Future Market Dynamics for Key Polyester Fiber Types and their Feedstocks.

In a rapidly fluctuating industry, our weekly and monthly service provides the essential data you need to optimize your market position. Below are just several of the issues faced by the stakeholders in the polyester value chain.

  • New market entrants into Asia and the Middle East
  • Consolidation in Europe and the Americas
  • Volatility in production costs.

Global Polyester Fibers & Feedstocks helps you successfully navigate this ever-changing landscape by leveraging our comprehensive analysis of world polyester markets, from upstream feedstock suppliers to downstream fiber producers and consumers.

Through regular, personal contact with key industry players, our chemical consultants gather industry-specific data, which they then analyze and translate into valuable insights and forecasting advice. Clients receive weekly price data, including extensive monthly coverage of price forecasts and key market fundamentals.


North America Aromatics Provides Critical Market Information for Benzene, Toluene, Mixed Xylenes, PTA, Paraxylene, Cumene, Phenol, Styrene, and Cyclohexane.

Managed by our consultants in Houston, North America Aromatics offers clients a comprehensive view of North American markets for aromatics and derivatives, including an in-depth analysis of economic concerns, trade, and operational issues impacting the industry. Through continual, personal contact with key industry sources, our consultants gather and study industry-specific data, then analyze and translate it into valuable insights and forecasting advice.

Clients receive global weekly market updates and regional monthly market analysis, plus a supplement that provides critical supporting data. Monthly regional Market Advisory Services include prices, unique metrics, and real-time news and intelligence.

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Long-Term Solutions

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments


  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

  • Long-term supply-demand database updated bi-annually
  • Real-time global capacity database
  • Detailed country-level trade grids updated bi-annually
  • 10-year forecasts for the price, cost, and margin updated quarterly
  • Upside and downside sensitivities
  • Strategic market assessments

Aromatics and Fibers Global Team

Duncan Clark

Duncan Clark Vice President, Global Aromatics & Fibers Team Lead

Duncan Clark is the Vice President of the Global Aromatics and Fibers business at Chemical Market Analytics.

Duncan acts as the key resource within Dow Jones for understanding and providing insight into the Aromatics sector of the petrochemical industry, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil, and financial industries.
Duncan joined IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2013, he has spent the last 32 years working in the chemical and petrochemical industries in various Sales, Marketing, and Global Business Management roles.

Before this, Duncan spent ten years working in an ExxonMobil / Shell joint venture company, involved in Fuel and Lubricant additives visiting refineries all over the world. He also spent 12 years working for Air Products in various chemical and industrial gases businesses in the U.K., U.S., and Netherlands. He now provides insights into the global aromatics and derivative markets including paraxylene, purified terephthalic acid, ethylene glycols, polyurethane feedstocks, and the global benzene, toluene, and xylenes markets.

He graduated with a BSc. in Chemical Engineering from University College London. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Manchester Business School.

 

Peter Feng

Peter Feng Executive Director, Americas Styrenics

Mr. Peter Feng is the Executive Director of Aromatics at Chemical Market Analytics.

He is a known industry expert on styrene, polystyrene, and expandable polystyrene. Mr. Feng is currently the Service Leader for the North American Aromatics Market Service and has been covering the aromatics markets for over fourteen years at CMAI and IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics). He has over 36 years of experience in the chemical industry working first for Air Products and Chemicals and then for Sterling Chemicals. During this time he had assignments in Process Engineering, Process Technology, Information Systems, Environmental, Supply Chain, and Commercial. In 1992 he joined Sterling Chemicals where he had various supply chain and commercial responsibilities for styrenics and other products. Mr. Feng was a Partner at CMAI when it was acquired by IHS Markit in May of 2011.

He has covered the benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, styrene, polystyrene, EPS, ABS, and phenolics markets at CMAI and Chemical Market Analytics but focuses currently on styrene, polystyrene, and expandable polystyrene. As an industry expert, he has testified as an Expert Witness in numerous arbitration and court cases. He contributes to a number of services and reports including the North American Aromatics Market Report. Mr. Feng has written for a number of World Analyses and is now responsible for the World Styrene Analysis, World Polystyrene Analysis, and World Expandable Polystyrene Analysis. He is a frequent speaker at events such as the World Petrochemical Conference, EPS Expo, Foodservice Packaging Institute, and Badger’s World Styrene Conference. He has assisted with single-client work in the areas of strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions, bankruptcies, benchmarking, litigation, and market analysis.

Mr. Feng holds a Bachelors and Masters of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, US, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Houston, US.

Simon Cleghorn

Simon Cleghorn Executive Director, EMEA Benzene & Pygas

Simon Cleghorn is an Executive Director Consultant Aromatics EMEA at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Cleghorn joined Chemical Market Analytics in June 2020, to take up the position of Director Consultant at Aromatics EMEA. Working closely with the petrochemical and oil industries, he is responsible for providing market insight to clients in the refining and petrochemical sectors. With almost 20 years of commercial and management experience in a variety of roles at Royal Dutch Shell, he is a seasoned and networked professional with experience across the energy and petrochemical sectors.

Mr. Cleghorn has an acute awareness of the strategic environment in which businesses and other organizations operate, and is skilled in leading teams, managing the senior stakeholders necessary for the delivery of commercial strategy (incl. Capex projects), contracting strategy, and negotiation (sales and procurement), contract management, and the management of the interface between commodity sales/ procurement and commodity trading. Mr. Cleghorn has a university degree from Kedge Business School and Middlesex University.

Brian Lee

Brian Lee Executive Director, Asia Benzene, Styrene

Brian Lee is the Executive Director for Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone at Chemical Market Analytics.

Brian is responsible for covering Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone market analysis and the market reports on Asian Aromatics.

Mr. Lee serves as an executive director at Chemical Market Analytics responsible for covering Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone market analysis and the market reports on Asian Aromatics.

He contributes to various market advisory publications and supports consulting activities. His distinguished career has spanned more than 25 years in the petrochemical and chemical industries.

Previously, he worked with Argus Dewitt for three years as a vice president covering Asian Aromatics. He contributed to numerous market reports, and single client studies and also hosted the Asian conference including speaking. Mr. Lee started his career with Samsung C&T Corporation where he worked for 16 years both in Asia and Europe. He was responsible for trading and marketing BTX, Styrene, PX, and PTA to global customers. Mr. Lee holds an MBA from Hanyang cyber University, and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Hanyang University, South Korea.

 

Alan Lu

Alan Lu Executive Director, China Aromatics & Fibers

Alan Lu is an Executive Director for Aromatics & Fibers at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Lu joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2001 and he currently leads the China aromatics team with major research coverage on EO/EG, BTX, and SM value chains. In 2012, Mr. Lu was a Director with the Chemicals Consulting Group based in Shanghai. Prior to joining Chemicals Consulting, he was in both aromatics and fibers research in Asia with primary responsibility for PET Bottle Resin for Asia, Polyester Fiber, PTA, MEG, Phenol, and Acetone for China.

Mr. Lu holds a Master’s degree in business administration from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree from Shanghai International Studies University.

 

James Nicholson

James Nicholson Executive Director, America Benzene, Pygas & Reformate

James Nicholson is the Executive Director for America Benzene, Pygas & Reformate at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Nicholson is the Research and Analysis executive director responsible for market coverage of Benzene, PyGas, and Reformate in North America.  He has 30 years of industry experience with 29 years having served Lyondell Chemical in a variety of roles including optimization, olefins feedstocks, trading, and multiple commercial roles where he was most recently Business Director – Aromatics and Oxygenated Fuels, Americas.

David Potter

David Potter Executive Director, EMEA Phenolics and Americas Isocyanates

David Potter is Executive Director for EMEA aromatics and phenolics at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Potter joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) at the start of 2013, where he has been responsible for market coverage and insight across the global aromatics and fibers team. He has specialized in aromatics derivatives such as phenolics, styrene monomers, and polyurethane feedstocks for both the EMEA region and the Americas. He is currently responsible for aromatics and phenolics in the EMEA region.

Prior to joining IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics),  Mr. Potter worked on the petrochemical desk at Platts for close to six years, where he covered the EMEA benzene and toluene markets for over four years. He also worked on other product streams including olefins and polymers. He first entered the petrochemical world in 1999 when he was recruited by Petrochem Carless, a UK-based refiner and distributor. He worked with Petrochem Carless for nearly seven years, where he took a variety of sales and marketing roles.

Mr. Potter also has a postgraduate diploma in periodical journalism.

 

Ashish Pujari

Ashish Pujari Vice President, Asia Aromatics | Global Polyurethane Feedstocks | Polyester Fibers & Feedstocks | Polyester Stream

Ashish Pujari serves as Vice President of Aromatics and Fibres in the Chemicals team at Chemical Market Analytics in Singapore.

Mr. Pujari has responsibility for the Asian Aromatics business and Global Fibres and Feedstocks business and is the service leader for subscription services covering the global Polyester, and the Asian Aromatics value chain. He also provides commercial leadership to the Polyurethanes Service within the Base chemicals group. Apart from the regular market and outlook updates, Mr. Pujari also leads initiatives in creating and updating the long-term outlook for the polyester value chain. He has also been involved in numerous consulting studies since joining the firm. Prior to joining Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) in 2009, Mr. Pujari gained 15 years of experience with Reliance Industries Limited in India. He started his career as a project and operations engineer and was involved in the startup and commissioning of the Hazira complex on the west coast of India. He shifted to the commercial role in mid-1998 and worked as a business analyst for Reliance’s executive management before shifting to a sales and marketing role, handling Fibers Intermediates. Mr. Pujari holds a B.E. in chemical and polymer engineering from Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune, India, and completed his Executive MBA, at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore, India.

 

Tobias Spyra

Tobias Spyra Director, EMEA Styrenics & Polyurethane Feedstocks

Tobias Spyra is the Director for EMEA Styrenics & Polyurethane Feedstocks at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Spyra joined the European aromatics and fibers team in 2016 and his current role in Chemical Market Analytics is as Director of Styrenics and Polyurethane Feedstocks in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region. As a key resource within Chemical Market Analytics for understanding and providing insight into the Aromatics sector of the petrochemical industry, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil, and financial industries. He specializes in cumene, phenol, acetone, AMS, BPA, solvents, styrene monomer, and its derivatives as well as the in the isocyanates, polyether, and polyester polyols markets.

Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, he worked in the chemical and petrochemical industries in various Sales, Marketing, and Global Business Management roles at Ineos, Innovene, and BP. Fluent in English, Spanish, and German.

See Yan Wong

See Yan Wong Associate Director, Polyurethane Feedstock

See Yan Wong is the Associate Director for Polyurethane Feedstock at Chemical Market Analytics.

SeeYan Wong works in the aromatics team in Asia, providing market advisory for the polyurethane feedstock market in the Asia Pacific. Based in the IHS Markit Singapore office, She is responsible for the orthoxylene and phthalic anhydride market coverage in Asia Pacific. Prior to joining IHS Markit, SeeYan worked for more than 16 years for a German chemical company, covering various commercial roles for the polyurethane industries in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Ms. Wong graduated from the University of South Australia with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.